Our Kinda Trip
by ThomasZoey3000
Summary: Following along after the 'A Powerful friendship Crossover'. The sequel series to My Kinda Life.
1. Prepairing to Go

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

I am proud to once again write up more stories about the cast of 'My Kinda Life', but this time with a little difference...as all the characters go together on a trip. This series follows along after the 'My Kinda Life/Save Me! Lollipop!' crossover adventure story, so the special moment that occured towards the ending of that story is mentioned in this series of stories. Like before, this series is rated PG with no swearing and a little bit of adventure. In this first chapter, we get reintroduced to the many characters of the original 'My Kinda Life' series, plus we get to see which other characters can drive...I think you'll be surprised by who those characters are. Anyhow, that's enough chatter from me, here's the first chapter of the sequel series of 'My Kinda Life', enjoy!

_**Chapter 1: Preparing To Go**_

It was a little bit chilly out today, but the sun was still shining and the birds were still singing. As for myself, I was packing my suitcases into my truck. I'm sure many of you know who I am, I'm Matthew Gagnon, the twenty year old Canadian that had moved to Tokyo back in 2009...remember me? Good, then I shall continue.

The reason I was packing my truck was because we were getting ready to go on a trip. And when I say we, I mean myself, Kaede, Primula, Daisy, Naomi, Asa, Rin, Mayumi, Itsuki, Michael, Destiny, Lisa, Yukie, Shiori, Sakura, Nerine, Daryl, Sia, Kikyou and Dave.

"Here are my suitcases, Matt!" called Daisy, my younger sister.

"Just put them into the back of the truck!" I called, I was checking over the engine to see if it was ready for this long trip.

"This was a great idea to go on this trip, it'll be the first one I've taken...with you guys of course."

"There's a lot of firsts for this trip," I said to her, "this is also Kikyou's first trip, well...mostly everyone is going on a trip for the first time..." after I was done checking the engine, I closed the hood of my truck and walked over to the gate, "well, I better get the rest of the suitcases and see if everyone is ready to go."

"Wait!" she cried, "Matt, please don't leave me alone."

That's something about Daisy that hasn't changed ever since I adopted her to be my sister, she doesn't want to be on her own. Thankfully, Primula was coming out at this time with her suitcases.

"Primula, can you stay out here with Daisy?"

"Sure Matthew," she said, "I'll stay out here, besides I already got my suitcases in the back of your truck."

"Thanks Primula," I said, then I ran up the pathway into the house.

Now, some things have changed since you last heard from me, for starters, Naomi now sleeps on her own in her room. Speaking of which, she was getting some manga books from her bookshelf, and she had the radio on. Naomi usually listens to the music of 'Michael Buble', but she will also listen to some country songs, like 'From a Table Away' by 'Sunny Sweeney'.

Daisy now sleeps in Kaede's old bedroom, she did have trouble sleeping at first when she moved in there, but after a while, she did calm down and now she can sleep in there peacefully.

Now, I bet you're wondering, if Daisy has got Kaede's old bedroom, where is she sleeping now?

Well, she still sleeps with me, but it's no longer my room, it's now our room. Kaede and I got married on the 27th of September, just one year after we first kissed on the lips.

Kaede was packing up some suitcases, hers and mine.

I just smiled as I stood there in the doorway, "packing my suitcases Kaede?"

She looked over to me surprised, but then she smiled, "yeah, I just wanted to help you Matthew, after all, a wife is suppose to help her husband, right?"

"Yep, but a husband is suppose to help his wife whenever she needs him."

"Yeah," then she walked up to me and gave me a hug, I wrapped my arms around her at that moment. Then we both walked over to our bed, and sat down side by side.

"Are you excited to be going on this trip?" I asked her.

"I am," she answered happily, "especially since I get to be with you," Kaede started blushing, and so did I to be honest with you.

"Although, this is the first trip we've taken since we've gotten married."

"Yeah."

"Kaede, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Matthew, what is it?"

"Are you happy being married to me?"

"Of course I am," she grabbed onto my left hand and held it in between her two hands (quite similar to what I did last year when Kaede was sick), "I'm happy to be married to someone as kind and sweet as you. You always make my everyday life special."

"And you do the same for me all the time Kaede," I smiled.

We both stayed quiet for a while, then we looked all around the room, "Kaede, do you remember when I first showed you the room one week after our wedding?"

"I remember..."

Here's what happened that day. Daisy, Naomi and I had worked together all morning moving some of Kaede's things from her old room into my room, and removing some things from my room and...well, you get the idea. By around lunchtime, we were done.

"Looks great Big Bro," said Naomi.

"Thanks, I just hope Kaede will say the same thing."

"Oh I'm sure she will," smiled Daisy, then she asked, "is it okay if I go out for a bit?"

"Would this have anything to do with a certain young blonde haired boy named Monty, would it?" I asked in a cheeky way.

"Maybe," she said meekily.

I was quiet for a few seconds, then I smiled to her, "of course you can, you go meet up with Monty. But I would like to know, what do you two have planned for the day?"

"Well...he's taking me out to the movie theatre, then we're going over to the couples theme park."

"Sounds nice," I smiled, "well, I hope you two have a good time, and thank you again for helping."

"You're welcome Matt, I'll see you later!"

Daisy then ran off happily downstairs, got on her shoes and hurried out the door to meet up with Monty. Naomi walked back to her room to read one of her many mangas, while I walked downstairs. As I was walking into the kitchen, I could see Kaede looking at some recipes in a cookbook. She was wondering what she could cook for lunch.

I walked up behind her and placed my hands over her eyes, "guess who?"

"Let's see," Kaede giggled, "could it be that cute, sweet, handsome and kind man that I married? Matthew?"

"Correct," I said as I removed my hands from her eyes. Kaede turned around to see me, smiling at her, "now how did you know it was me?"

"I just knew," she giggled. Both laughed for a couple of seconds.

"Well, Daisy, Little Sis and I have finished moving your things into the room, would you like to see it?"

"Yes please," she smiled at me.

Kaede followed me upstairs, then I told her to cover her eyes, as this was going to be a surprise. Although, she did peek before we got in, "hey!" I said while laughing, "no fair peaking!"

"Sorry Matthew," she giggled.

I guided her slowly towards the room, and then once we were inside, I told her to remove her hands from her eyes. When she did, she gasped and smiled, "it's so beautiful!"

"I'm glad you like it. Now, allow me to show you what the three of us have been doing all morning," I walked over to where the bed was, "as you can see, we moved your cabinet in here, along with all the pictures and your lamp in here. I hope you don't mind it being here in front of the bed."

"I don't mind, I think it looks great."

"That's good, now, if you look here to the computer desk, both of your laptops are now sitting next to my computer. And if you look behind you to the bookshelves, you'll see the pictures that were in your room," I smiled as I looked over to one picture in particular, "including that special picture of us."

"Our wedding photo," Kaede smiled.

"Yeah," I smiled, then we both looked over to the sliding glass door.

"My pink curtains," Kaede gasped.

"Yep, I brought those in here, and moved the dark blue ones to what is going to be Daisy's new room, but as you can see by the window, I kept the original dark blue curtains that were there," then I moved over to the closet, "in here, you'll find your stuff on the right, and mine on the left."

I then walked over to the bed, "as you can see, I've placed your favourite pillow beside mine, the two dolphins I gave you are right in between the pillows. And of course, your orange blanket is sitting on top of my blue blanket. So Kaede, what do you think?"

"I love it!" she cried and ran up to me. We hugged for a minute, then we kissed on the lips for a minute and a half.

"You were pretty excited that day," I said after a while.

"I was, but I was mostly excited to be sharing a room with you."

"Well I'm glad to know that you are happy Kaede," we just looked into each other's eyes for a couple of seconds, then our lips came closer as we kissed for a minute. After the kiss, Kaede and I continued to pack up our suitcases.

"Matthew, I was just wondering something."

"What would that be?" I asked.

"Are you going to be okay with going back to a place that made you unhappy?"

I stopped packing at that moment and looked over to Kaede. It was clear that she was talking about my hometown in Ontario, Canada, which was one of the places we were going to.

"I'll be okay, as long as you're with me, then I'll be okay."

"Okay, but what about your parents, what if we run into them?"

I was quiet for a couple more seconds, I remembered that it was because of them, my mother mostly, that I wanted to move away from Canada and come to Tokyo when Kaede invited to move in with her.

"If it's my father alone, then we've got nothing to worry about, but if it's my mother, then we'd better get away from her."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, cause I know that she will not be happy to see me, and I doubt she'll be happy to see you. She thinks that I've ruined her life by moving here and marrying you, but of course she's wrong, although she'll never admit it."

Kaede looked down to the floor, looking sad.

"Kaede, you know that no matter what, I'll never leave you."

"I know," she said, showing me her smile, "I was just hoping that you two could patch things up, like you did with your dad."

"I was also hoping the same thing, but from what my father said, that's probably not going to happen."

We didn't talk anymore about my parents, and went back to packing until our suitcases were all filled up, then we went downstairs to fill up the back of the truck. Just before we were ready to lock up, Kaede made some phone calls to let everyone know about the trip. I took the suitcases outside, only to find Naomi's suitcases on the ground, all four of them were all open.

"What happened this time?" I asked.

"Little Sis tripped and her suitcases burst open," said Primula.

"BIG SIS!" cried Naomi, "you didn't need to say that out loud!"

"Sorry," she said meekily.

Daisy was already helping to pick up all of Naomi's things and put them back in the suitcases. Naomi and Primula joined in and helped her, while I packed my suitcases into the back of the truck. After I was done there, I noticed another car coming up and parking in front of us. Much to our surprise, it was Nerine's car.

"Wow!" I gasped, "Nerine, I never knew you owned a cool car like that."

"It was recently given to me by my parents," she said, "for passing my driver's test."

"What a car," Sia gasped when she came out, "I wish I could drive and own a car like this."

"You would need to take the time to study," said Kikyou, "and from what I know about you, you always have a hard time studying, even with help."

"Will you shut up?" snapped Sia.

"There's no need to fight you two," I called.

Just as I looking over my engine again, Dave and Daryl showed up, needless to say, Sia and Kikyou started fighting over him again.

"What do you think of my car Daryl?" Nerine asked kindly.

"I think it's beautiful," he said in a kind way, "just like you."

"Oh Daryl," she smiled.

She then gave Daryl a hug, and they hugged for a couple of minutes before they went ahead to load up the trunk of the car.

For this trip, Kaede, Primula, Naomi and Daisy were to ride with me, while Dave, Daryl, Sia and Kikyou were riding with Nerine. Michael, Destiny, Sakura, Shiori and Yukie were riding with Lisa, while Itsuki, Mayumi and Asa were riding with Rin, who also got his driver's license.

Before long, everyone had arrived, and at this time, we were installing the CB raidos into the four vehicles.

"Hey, where's Michael and Destiny?" asked Asa, "they should've been here ten minutes ago."

"Don't worry about those two," I called, "they're getting some last minute things packed up, they'll be here any minute."

"Actually, I'm right here," he said.

Hearing him made me jump, and as a result of it, I banged my hand underneath my dashboard.

"That's going to leave a mark," I moaned quietly, "is everyone going to sneak on me all the time..." as soon as I stepped out from my truck, I noticed that Michael was alone.

"Hey Michael, where's Destiny?"

"She's not coming on this trip," he groaned.

"Is she sick?" Kaede asked kindly.

"No," Michael groaned as he walked over to the fence, "Destiny's fine, except - she broke up with me."

"What?" Kaede and I asked in unison.

"You can't be serious, right Michael?"

"I'm being serious," he groaned, "for the last few days, Destiny and I have not been getting along that well, we've been fighting none stop. After fighting for so long, she finally broke up with me last night, took her stuff and went to a motel."

Michael groaned unhappily as he brought all of his suitcases to Lisa's car.

"Poor guy," said Sakura.

"Yeah," I said in agreement, "it's not a good feeling to feel, I know because I was dumped four times in the past. He's going need the support of his friends now."

"Maybe I could help him cheer up," said Sakura, "maybe by talking with him or hanging out with him."

"I think that's a great idea," said Kaede.

"I think so too," I agreed, "I think Michael would really appearcite having a friend like you to talk to."

In a short while, we were all gathered outisde of the steel gate of our house. We were going over the plans for this trip.

"Okay gang, listen up," I said, "here's what we've got planned for this trip...we're going to the realm of the demons first for a week, then we'll be spending another week in the realm of the gods."

"Hopefully the boat will be completed by that time," Sia muttered.

"Then we'll be spending three weeks in Canada, we'll be meeting up with Patrick and Ryan in Stouffville."

"Why wouldn't they move here to Tokyo?" Naomi asked.

"They do lives of their own to live in Canada," Daisy answered.

"Right Daisy," I said, "now, after our trip in Canada, we'll be heading off to Pennsylvania, that's in America, Little Sis," I said in a sarcastic way.

She only grunted quietly.

"We'll be staying in America for three weeks, then we'll be heading off to England for another three weeks. Then we'll be returning home after that. Let's see, today is October 12th, so we should probably return to Tokyo just before Christmas...hopefully."

"This is going to be great!" Naomi cheered, "I finally get to see new places and meet new people!"

"You mean we," Daisy said firmly, "you're not going anywhere without us."

"I know that, but you have to understand of how excited I am to be going."

"I wish I could share in the excitment," Michael groaned, "this trip just isn't going to be the same without Destiny."

"Maybe so," said Sakura kindly, "but I'm sure this trip will still be an enjoyable one."

"Maybe," he grunted, somehow Sakura could feel that trying to cheer Michael up was going to be an uphill battle.

Before we were ready to go, some of our friends made some phone calls to their families, come to think of it, so was Kaede, she was calling her father to let him know that we were going to be away for a while.

While Rin, Lisa and I were checking over the engines of our vehicles. Daryl was looking over the engine of Nerine's car.

"Poor Michael," Yukie was saying, "I know how it feels to be dumped."

"It's terrible, isn't it?" Shiori asked her big sister.

"It is," she groaned, she was thinking back to when she was dumped by that jerk, Jun Takeda, "Shiori, I'm not sure if I said it enough, but I want to say thank you for helping me through the tough times I went through."

"You're welcome Yukie."

Yukie then got down on her knees and hugged her little sister, and Shiori of course hugged her sister back for another minute.

"So Rin," I said as I was checking over my engine, "how in the world did you get that van of yours? They're usually expensive you know, and if I remember correctly, you only have enough to pay for the rent of your apartment and for the food you get every week."

"I won that van in a contest a week ago," he answered.

"Okay then, that's all I needed to know...now tell me, are you going to propose to Asa any time soon?"

"Not yet Matthew...not until I get a ring for her."

I looked over to him in surprise, "is that all you need to do? You should've told me sooner, I can help you get a ring."

"Thanks Matthew, but I want to pick out the perfect ring for her, I only wish I had the money to buy one."

"Okay then, tell you what, when you're ready to buy a ring, let me know and I'll give you the money to buy one, and don't worry about paying me back, cause there's no need to do that."

"Thanks Matthew."

"No problem."

I watched as Rin walked back over to his van to make sure that everything was running perfectly.

Before long, we were all ready to head out to the portal for the realm of the demons. We had checked everything over, which was acting perfectly, the engines were running well and all our suitcases were pakced into the trunks or backs of our vehicles.

Kaede had one of her pillows in the front seat so she could rest her head, and so did Primula, Naomi and Daisy.

"Now remember, we have a few manga books in the back seat in case you feel bored, and we do have lots of CDs up here at the front, okay?"

"Okay Matt," said Daisy.

At last, I climbed into the front seat of the truck, turned the engine on, which started up perfectly, at the same time the other three vehicles started up.

"Alright guys," I called threw the CB radio, "are you ready for this trip?"

"WE'RE READY!" they cried.

"Then let's head out, Nerine, lead the way."

And that's just what we did, Nerine lead the way, followed by my truck, Lisa's car followed and Rin's van followed behind.

"Hey Nerine," I called threw the radio, "are you sure we can take our vehicles threw the portal to the realm of the demons?"

"I'm sure," she said sounding confident, "it's all ready for us."

"In that case, let's put the pedal to the metal!"

We soon arrived at the portal, and one by one, our vehicles went inside the portal to the realm of the demons - to begin the biggest trip we have ever taken.


	2. Past Mysteries

Now, we finally get into the fun and excitment of this series as the gang reaches their first destination. In this chapter, we get a chance to learn a bit about Forbesii's past and a former girlfriend of his, partly based on the Shuffle game 'Tick! Tack!', of course I haven't really played the game myself, so the story you're going to be reading is all made up by yours truely. Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as the characters visit the realm of the demons and visit Nerine's cottage.

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Chapter 2: Past Mysteries**_

"Are we there yet?" Naomi asked for the fifth time already.

"No Little Sis," I said, starting to lose patience, "now do you mind not asking me that question again? I'll let you know when we have arrived."

"Plus you're also bugging him and he doesn't want to be bothered," said Daisy. Naomi shut her a dirty look, while I looked back to Daisy and winked right at her.

At long last, we could see a cottage come into view. It was quite similar to Nerine's house, only a bit bigger.

"We've arrived," I called in a sarcastic way to Naomi. She didn't say a single word to me, she only grunted and looked out another window.

The inside of the cottage was quite impressive too, it looked like a modern day home. Nerine gave us a tour of the house, which included where the bedrooms were, girls were to be on one side of the hallway, while the guys were on the other side of the hallway (Nerine's parents asked her to tell us that), while the couples got the chance to sleep with the one they love in their own room.

"That's a relief," I sighed, "cause there's no way I would ever be able to sleep without Kaede by my side."

"I would never be able to sleep without Matthew beside me," Kaede agreed.

"I know," Nerine smiled, "that's why my parents said you two can share a room together."

"Thanks Nerine," I smiled.

After learning of where our rooms were, we went back out to our vehicles to get our baggage. I wish I could say the same for Michael, he only sulked around.

"Wow," I said to Sakura, "he's really down in the dumps about being dumped."

"It hurts a lot," she agreed with me.

"You know it's not going to be easy to cheer him up."

"I know, but I'm going to do what I can, just as I told you back in Tokyo. I only hope I don't say anything that might upset him again."

"Take it from someone who's been dumped four times in his lifetime, mostly everything a guy hears is going to upset him. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before he starts recovering from it, I know that threw experience."

"Is there anything you don't know?" she asked.

I thought for a second, then I answered, "I don't know."

I grabbed some of my suitcases, and Kaede's too and walked off back to the cottage.

That night, some of us were in the living room talking about good times, or we would be dancing to some love songs on the portable speakers I brought with my Ipod. One such song was called 'So Close' by 'Jon McLaughlin'. I think Nerine and Daryl liked that song alot, mostly because as soon as it started, they started dancing.

As for Dave, he could never decide on who to dance with, mostly cause he didn't want to hurt either girl's feelings.

Of course, when the song 'You'll Be In My Heart' started, Kaede and I got up and started dancing along to that song, as you know it's our song. I even whispered some bits to Kaede...

"_you'll be in my heart, yes you'll be in my heart, from this day on, now and forever more, you'll be in my heart, no matter what they say, you'll be here in my heart, always._"

Kaede loved that, mostly because she was blushing when I was singing that small bit.

"I love you Matthew," she said happily.

"And I love you too Kaede," I said to her.

She then got up on her toes and kissed me on the lips. I tell you, it's so wonderful to feel her lips touching mine, and holding her so close to me, I feel so happy to have her here with me. And I know Kaede feels the same about me because she always tells me everyday.

Later on, I was sitting in the living room, just waiting for Kaede to finish getting changed into her pajamas. At this time, Sakura was also in the room, she watched as Michael walked sadly off to his room.

"Poor guy," she sighed.

"Matthew," said a sweet voice from behind me.

I looked up to see Kaede looking down at me with that trademark smile of hers, "are you ready to go to bed?" I asked kindly.

"I am," she smiled, "after you get changed," she giggled.

"Right," I smiled back, "I won't take long."

Kaede walked over to the couch to wait for me while I walked off to our room. As I walked through the nearly empty hallways, I noticed someone's shadow in the distance, and by the looks of it, this person or whoever it was was heading off to the treasury room.

The treasury room contains many mysterious objects that Forbesii and his wife had gotten over the years, according to what I've been told, some of those objects contain magicial powers.

"Maybe it's Nerine," I thought to myself and walked back into the bedroom to get changed.

When I had gotten changed into my pajamas, I walked off back to the living room where Kaede could seen talking with Sakura. During that time, I heard some footsteps from behind me. I looked back, only to see the same shadow from before walk on past.

"Now that's just weird," I muttered quietly.

"What's weird Matthew?" I jumped in shock when I heard that voice, it was Kaede, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spook you."

"That's okay Kaede," I answered as I calmed down, then I answered her question (in the best way I could), "I noticed someone walk over to the treasury, then leave in an hurry."

"That is strange."

We then said our good nights to Sakura and walked off back to our room. Just for the record, the bed in this room is a lot bigger than ours back at home. Even so, Kaede and I climbed in and layed there side by side (with me on my left side and Kaede on her right side). We stared into each other's eyes, then we moved slightly forward and kissed on the lips for a couple of minutes. We then said good night to each other and went off to sleep, with the two of us hugging each other as we slept.

The next morning, Kaede and I walked into the kitchen of the cottage, only to get quite a shock - Nerine looked completely different today as she had red hair (not crimson red like Sia and Kikyou, full red!)

"Ah Nerine," I said, "did you change your hair color?"

"No, my hair's always been like this."

Kaede and I looked at each other in a confused way, "but Rina," said Kaede, "you've always had sky blue hair."

"Are you two feeling okay?" Naomi asked.

"We're fine Little Sis, why?"

"I'm just curious, cause everyone knows that Nerine's hair is red, not sky blue."

"That's true," Primula said quietly.

Now Kaede and I were confused, but we decided not to say anymore as we sat down at our spots at the big table (and I mean big! It would be the size of Kaede's old classroom). But we couldn't help but wonder what could've caused all these changes.

Sometime that day, I was walking along through the hallway and that's when I noticed - a picture showing Forbesii and what appeared to be a different woman beside him - on their wedding day.

"Okay now that's weird," I thought to myself, "what is going on around here? And more importantly, what happened to Sage?"

It seemed like I wasn't the only one as Kaede was wondering that for herself.

That night, we were suppose to be sleeping, but Kaede couldn't sleep at all, "Matthew?" she whispered softly to me and rubbed my right shoulder, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I am," I said as I looked up to Kaede, who was sitting up at this time, "you're worried about Nerine too huh?"

"Yeah, I just wonder what happened to her."

"And what happened to Sage," I added. Kaede looked over to me in a confused way, "I saw a picture of Nerine's father with another woman on their wedding day."

Kaede's face then lit up, "maybe that woman is the same person you saw last night."

"Could be, but how would she be able to become Forbesii's wife and cause Nerine's hair color to change?"

"And how come we're the only ones who know the real Nerine?"

We were quiet for a minute before I answered, "I'm not quite sure, but maybe it has a lot to do with me, it's like the kings said before, there's more to me than meets the eye."

"Maybe," Kaede said quietly, "and it could be the only reason why I know the real Nerine, remember Matthew? You were holding me close to you last night."

"Yep that could be it..." it was then I remembered something that Forbesii once told me, "maybe this mystery woman used some kinda device that take a person back in time."

"Time travel? But I thought that wasn't possible."

"Hey, with the realm of the gods and the realm of the demons, nothing's impossible. Maybe we should go check to see for ourselves."

"Good idea Matthew."

Kaede got changed first, then after she was done and walked out to wait in the hallway, I went in to get changed.

"Just in case we do go travelling back in time," I was saying to her, "we don't want to end up going back in our pajamas." Kaede giggled at my little joke, (I just love to hear her giggle).

We walked as quietly as we could threw the empty hallways, trying hard not to make a single sound. After a few minutes, we reached the treasure room, there were lots of objects in that room, including something that looked like a watch.

"Maybe this is the object we're looking for," I was saying to Kaede, I looked at the label at the bottom of the stand and sure enough it said 'time watch'.

"There's just one problem Matthew, we don't know where she went."

"I think I know, Forbesii once told me this when I was trying to repair his television stand...come to think of it, I don't know how that happened."

Anyways, I pushed on the buttons, placing in the date that I was thinking of.

"Now, you better hang on tight, okay?"

"I'm hanging on."

"In that case, here we go..."

I pushed a big green button and within seconds, Kaede and I were engulfed in a bright beam of light...

When the beam of light faded, we found ourselves in a city park. Then we saw a teenage boy walking towards the fountain, it was Forbessi.

Then we noticed a young woman walking over to the fountain as well - and that's when I noticed the mysterious woman.

"That's her," I said to Kaede, "and by the looks of it, she's looking to stop Sage from meeting up with Forbesii."

"We can't let her do that," Kaede said with detemination.

I looked at her kinda surprised, "that's just what I was going to say."

"Sorry," she said meekily.

"That's okay Kaede," I then looked back at the woman, "let's see if we stop her from changing time again."

Both Kaede and I snuck threw the bushes until we were close to where she was standing, we had to be very careful not to let her see us. As Sage was getting closer to the fountain, that's when the mysterious woman decided to make her move...

"So long Sage," she snickered.

"I don't think so," I cried.

The woman jumped in surprise to see us jump out from the bushes and blocking her path, "Sage is suppose to be with Forbesii," I said firmly, "And we're not going to let you ruin their chance to fall in love."

"No!" the woman cried.

She tried to get past us, but Kaede and I made sure that she couldn't get past. She sure was determined that much I can tell you, but so were Kaede and I (it helps after dealing with the knuckleheads after all this time).

Even from where we were, we could see Forbesii and Sage talking and what we heard next made us (Kaede and I) smile.

"Sage, will you marry me?" the teenage Forbesii asked.

"Yes," she smiled, "I will marry you."

She gave him a hug, then they kissed, then they left. The mysterious woman was really angry with us.

"You're in a lot of trouble now miss," I said to her, "and you can tell us everything when we get back to the cottage."

And so, I activated the watch and transported us back to the treasure room...

When we arrived, the mysterious woman tried to get away, but she never got far when she saw Forbesii, Sage, Eustoma and Cineraria standing there in the doorway.

"I thought you might be up to your old tricks again," Forbesii sighed unhappily.

"You know this woman?" I asked.

"Sadly I do, she's an ex-girlfriend that I broke up with after our relationship didn't last that long."

"Still, you would've been mine, and for a while you were," the woman chuckled in an evil way, "until these two stopped me."

"We've said it before and we'll see it again," Eustoma said as he looked over to me, "there's more to you than meets the eye."

I didn't say anything as the angry woman was taken away, snarling in an angry way. Forbesii walked over to me and asked me for the time watch, "this thing is way too dangerous, I think it'll be safe with Sage and I."

He then walked away with the time watch, while Sage spoke with us.

"That woman you stopped tonight was indeed Forbesii's former girlfriend, she was always jealous that I was with him and on our wedding day, she swore that she would try to get her revenage on us."

"And for a while she did," I said.

"Until we travelled back in time and stopped her," Kaede added.

"Yes indeed, but I would advise you two not to do that again, time travel is extremly dangerous."

"We promise you that we won't," Kaede and I said in unison. Kaede and I looked at each other and laughed while Sage walked out of the room to join her husband.

"Say what?" Naomi was asking us during breakfast, "you two went back in time?"

"You heard us correctly Little Sis," I said to her.

"I still can't see how it's possible."

"I always thought my dad was joking around when he told me about the time watch," said Sia, "I guess he was right all along."

"Well after we returned from the past, Forbesii took the time watch away and hopefully that thing will remain hidden for all of our sakes," I was saying.

"I still can't imagine Rina with red hair," said Sia.

"What shade of red was her hair?" Naomi asked.

"The same shade as yours, redhead," I said as I rubbed her hair and making it a mess.

"Hey!" she cried, "you know how I feel about you messing up my hair!"

"I'm only joking around with you Little Sis," I said in a calm way, "we always joke around about certain things."

"I know," she smiled.

"Rina, did you know anything about your dad's ex-girlfriend?"

"Not really," she answered, (just for the record, she is back in her sky blue hair), "I didn't know that my dad had dated another woman before he met my mother."

"Dating," Michael muttered, "I won't be doing that for a while."

Sakura looked over to Michael with that same concerned look that she's had ever since our trip began.

After breakfast, Nerine showed us around the rest of the cottage, which included a game room and an indoor swimming pool. The girls did some swimming in the pool, while us guys played some of the games. Like ping-pong, well - Rin, Itsuki and I did played the games, Michael stood and remained quiet.

"The way he's standing there," Rin was saying, "reminds of when Primula first came into our lives."

"I remember that," Itsuki chuckled, "as I remember, I teased you about having a young girlfriend like her."

"And yet you don't anymore, it seems like ever since you and Mayumi started going out together, you've become a completely different person."

"I have to agree with Rin on this one," I said as we started another game.

"Quick question here," Rin piped up, "if you could get the chance to go back in time, what would you do?"

"Well," Itsuki thought about it while trying to beat me at the game, "if I could, I would tell my younger self not to be a jerk."

"And what about you Matthew?"

"You should know the answer to that," I chuckled, "if I had the chance to go back in time, I would get my younger self to move to Tokyo and fall in love with Kaede."

"You sure are devoted to Kaede, aren't you?" Itsuki asked.

"You better believe it, as I have said countless times before - I don't know what I would do if Kaede and I never met," as I was saying this, I swung my paddle hard, which made the ball fly some distance - Itsuki missed it.

Of course, when we asked Michael of what he would do if he could go back in time, he didn't say anything for a long time.

"I would find a girl that loves me for who I am," he muttered a few minutes later.

Later that night, I was working on my truck and getting it ready for our trip to the castle tomorrow. Everyone else went off to bed in about ten minutes, but not Kaede and I, we stayed awake a little longer.

We sat there on that couch for a while and talked about good times in the past. Then Kaede asked, "would you like to dance with me Matthew?"

"I would love to," I smiled.

I got up from the couch first, then I held out my right hand - Kaede grabbed it softly with her left hand, then I helped her to her feet. I plugged in my Ipod into the portable speakers and turned the volume down a little, but loud enough for us to hear it.

"Which song would you like to dance to?"

"I would like the song called 'You'," Kaede answered, "by Rascal Flatts."

"Sure Kaede."

So I scrolled down the list until we got to that song, then I pushed the play button and the song began to play while we danced. We danced until the song was over, then she went over to the room to get changed. She came back out in less than a minute, then I went to get changed, then once I was changed into my pajamas, Kaede came back to the room.

We both climbed into the bed and layed down side by side again.

"Kaede," I whispered to her, "if you had the chance to go back in time, what would you do?"

"I would help my younger self to find you and..."

"Fall in love with me, right?"

"Yes, but how..."

"I just knew," I smiled.

Kaede smiled at me, then she moved forward to give me a kiss on the lips. We kissed for four minutes before it was time to go to sleep, we said our good nights to each other, then we both closed our eyes and went off to sleep, once again hugging each other throughout the night.


	3. A Day Full of Surprises

For this chapter, it's mostly still showing the gang in the realm of the demons (as mentioned in the last chapter). In this episode, the gang visits the palace and may find the reason as to why 'Matthew' can use the magicial sword. Also included is a scene that I really wanted to include in episode 7 of 'My Kinda Life', but I had completely forgotten about it till after I posted the episode itself. This actual episode came to me in a dream one night, and the following next day I decided to write this episode down, anyhow, I've done more than enough talking here, here's episode 3.

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Chapter 3: A Day Full of Surprises**_

The morning sunlight shone through the window the next morning, shining it's light brightly into the bedroom. I opened my eyes at around the same time that Kaede opened her eyes.

"I thought you usually get up at four thirty," I said kindly to her.

"I normally do, but this morning, I wanted to sleep in with you a little longer - that is okay isn't it?"

"Of course it is, my dear sweet Kaede," as I was saying this, I was running my right hand's fingers through her hair. Kaede was blushing at this time and smiling too.

She then moved closer towards me and gave me a kiss on the lips.

"I love you," she said sweetly.

"And I love you too," I said to her.

We layed there side by side for a while and talking about some of the good times we've had since we became a couple, "hey Kaede, do you remember the looks on everyone's faces when we told them that we were a couple?"

"I remember," she giggled happily.

I never did mention this to you guys before, so I'm going to tell you now. The following next morning, Kaede, Primula and I walked all the way to their school, as you can guess, Kaede and I were holding hands.

In fact, we were still holding hands when we came into the classroom, "Good morning Kaede," Sia called out, "and good morning to you too Matthew."

"Good morning Sia," I said.

"Isn't today just a beautiful day?" Kaede asked.

"It is," said Nerine.

Itsuki then noticed, "you two do know that you're holding hands right?"

"We are?" I asked curiously, "oh so we are."

Kaede giggled at that very moment and started to blush too.

"Okay, what is going on with you two?" Sia asked, "First Matthew moves in, then you two go out on a date, then we catch you two kissing and know you're holding hands. It's not bad mind you."

Kaede and I looked at each other at that moment, "do you want to tell them or should I?" I asked her.

"I think we should both tell them," she answered, then we looked back to our friends, "Well, after you left, Matthew and I...we...confessed to each other..."

They looked at us in shock when they heard this, "you two confessed?" Nerine, Sia and pretty much every girl in the classroom asked.

"That would be correct," I answered this time, "which means now that Kaede and I are officially a couple."

The girls were happy to hear that, but as you can guess, Itsuki wasn't happy at all.

Rin just chuckled, "well Itsuki, looks you can't include Kaede into your little visions again."

Itsuki only groaned, while I walked with Kaede to her desk. As a kind gentleman, I pulled her chair out for her and pushed it in slowly and gently as she sat down.

"Thank you Matthew."

"You're welcome," I said kindly. We were quiet for a while until I spoke up again, "I wish I could stay here with you all day, but I doubt your teacher will allow me to stay."

I was just about to leave when Kaede called out my name.

"What is it Kaede?"

She was quiet for a few seconds, then she said, "I love you."

I smiled and blushed at that moment, "I love you too Kaede," I then gave her a kiss on the right side of her face, then she gave me a kiss on the right side of my face, "I'll see you later okay?"

"Okay, have a good day Matthew."

"I will," I smiled as I headed off for the door.

No sooner was I out of sight then all the girls in the classroom, and some boys, shouted: "You're a lucky girl Kaede!"

"I think they were really surprised to find out that we were a couple," I was saying to Kaede, "Itsuki especially, but then again, he had a completely different attitude during that time."

"Yeah you are right," Kaede smiled, "but what made me happy that day was knowing that we were boyfriend and girlfriend."

"That's true - as long as I was the boyfriend," I joked.

Kaede giggled a little bit, then she looked me in the eyes and I did the same, then we kissed on the lips for another minute.

"You know something though Kaede," I said after our kiss, "some people thought we were moving a little too fast when we became boyfriend and girlfriend, what do you think?"

"Well, I'm not sure about that, Matthew. I mean, we did know each other long before you moved in with Rimu and I and we knew quite a lot about each other, and of course we were always trying to cheer each other up whenever we were upset. But then again, it was only a week after you moved in that we confessed our love to each other."

"That's true," I smiled, "Still though, I was happy when we became a couple and you became my girlfriend, to me it was like a dream come true."

"Do you mean it?"

"Of course I do."

"Oh Matthew," she said with a few small tears in her eyes, then she gave me another kiss on the lips.

Then after our kiss, I walked out of the room to allow Kaede to get changed, then after she was done and had walked out, I went back into the room to get changed. Today, I was going to wear a normal train T-Shirt, dark blue jeans, grey socks, the ribbon Kaede gave me back in July and my usual almost worn out running shoes (they still look the same as they did when I first moved in with Kaede).

In a short while, we were all heading off to the palace of the realm of the demons, we were excited to see this, well - except for Michael, he was still upset.

"It's huge!" Naomi gasped when we arrived.

"Just wait till we get inside," Nerine chuckled quietly.

She opened the doors to the palace and oh boy were we in for a huge surprise alright, it was the size of a castle ballroom X2.

"It's beautiful," Kaede smiled as she looked all around her.

"Thank you," smiled Nerine.

She then gave us a grand tour of the palace, which also included 'The Great Hall', where all the pictures of past kings and queens could be seen. As she looked around, one picture in particular caught Daisy's eye, "Matt, you might want to look at this!" she called.

We walked over to the picture Daisy was looking at and gasped, "Oh my gosh!" I gasped.

"That king looks like you," said Naomi.

It was true, that king had my same hair style, same hair color too, blue eyes like mine and he had the sword in his hands, the only difference was the length of ears.

"I was wondering why you looked so familar," said Nerine as she walked up, "King Junichi, he was the creator of that sword and the third king of the realm of the demons."

"There are have been over fifteen kings in this palace over the years," Sia said quietly.

"So I guess this king lived a long long time ago," Naomi said quietly.

"Whenever I got the chance to get out," said Kikyou, "I remember hearing our dad telling us about King Junichi. He was a brave man, one who was never afraid to stand up for those he loved and cared about. In order to defeat the enemies, he created a special sword that would stop them from harming anyone, he..."

"Folded the metal over 700 hundred times," I interupted.

"Right, boy you know your swords."

"I remember what dad told us about his first fight with the sword," said Sia, "the enemies had him all surronded, it seemed like he was done for - that was until he pulled out the sword and unleashed a powerful attack that knocked them out of the town. After that, he was made king of the realm of the demons..."

"Was he married to a girl that was like Kaede?" I asked.

"A little bit, yes," said Kikyou, "the girl he married did have orange hair, but it was longer, according to the story."

"As for the sword, he said that only one person in the future could use that sword if he needed to, to protect those he cares about and loves. For years, each king believed it was them - until now."

I was quiet for a while, now I knew why I can use the sword and use it's powers and nobody else can.

"Does this mean that Big Bro has to become king of the realm of the demons now?" Naomi asked.

Kaede and I looked at her surprised, but before we say a single word, Nerine spoke up, "if he did, we would've told him that when he saved Sia and Kikyou. The answer is no, he doesn't have to become the king, that postion will be taken by my future husband."

She then looked over to Daryl, who only blushed a deep shade of red.

For the rest of the day, we walked along through the rest of the palace on our official tour. I would've gotten some film of the palace, but Nerine's parents were stern in saying that we're not allowed to film or take pictures inside, that was okay really.

Then at last, Nerine showed us her room.

"Wow, now this is big," Naomi said out loud.

"This is even bigger than my computer lab," said Lisa.

"Even I have to admit that this room is huge," I said, "and this is suppose to be your room Nerine?"

"It is," she answered, "but I don't use it very often, I can't remember the last time when I used this room."

After the little tour of the palace, we headed off back to the cottage to relax. I was sitting out on the porch and drinking a coke, when Daisy came out to speak to me.

"At least now that's one more mystery solved," she said.

"You mean about the sword right?"

"That's right," she answered, "were you shocked to find out about that?"

"I was, I knew that I would find the answer someday, but I never expected to get the answer this quickly. Still though, I still have alot of question that I don't have answers to, and most of those question involve my past, I still can't understand why I can't remember everything."

"I'm sure you'll remember someday," Daisy said kindly as she sat down next to me, "just be patient."

"I know, and you're right. Still, I wonder if the reason I can't remember everything from my past is because of the worst moments in my life, maybe some bad stuff came up and I wanted to forget everything. I don't know," I groaned, "maybe it's better to keep those memories hidden away."

"Maybe you're right. At least you can forget bad moments that happened to you, I can't...and I really wish I could."

"You mean, the days when your sister ruined your life right?"

"Yep, you got it right."

"Daisy, I've been meaning to ask, do you enjoy living with us?"

"Of course I do, I've been really happy ever since you adopted me to be your sister - I hope you don't mind if I say this, but you are the best big brother I could ever ask for, thank you Matt," at this time, Daisy had a few tears come out from her eyes.

"You're welcome Daisy," I said as I wiped the tears away from her eyes, then I gave her a big hug.

(To be honest with you, I haven't seen her cry since the day I adopted her).

"Well anyways, I'd better call Monty and see how he's doing."

"That's something else I've been meaning to ask, why couldn't he and Max join us on this trip?"

Daisy stopped walking, then she looked over to me, "didn't you hear, they both caught the flu, but they'll be joining us once they're better."

"I didn't hear anything about that."

"Oh no," she groaned, "now that I remember it, I was the one who was suppose to be telling you. Sorry Matt."

"That's okay Daisy, that can happen to anyone."

Daisy smiled at me, then she ran back inside. I stayed out on that porch and looked up to the stars, I didn't even notice Nerine coming out until I heard her sigh.

"Nerine, are you sure I'm not suppose to be king, I mean, I am the rightful holder of that sword now."

"I'm quite sure," she said, "besides, I doubt you would want to become king anyways, you're pretty happy with the life you've got now."

"Yeah," I smiled.

Then Nerine asked me, "I hope you don't if I ask you this, but I was just wondering, if you were single when you first moved to Tokyo and you didn't know Kaede, do you think we could've had a relationship?"

"Maybe Nerine, and I don't mind you asking me that, Sia and Asa have asked me that before. Still I have to ask though, why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious that's all."

"Okay then, still I have to know, are you happy being with Daryl?"

"I am, and I have to thank you for introducing us...and thanks again for saving me during the summer, if you hadn't come along, I wouldn't be here right now."

"You're welcome Nerine."

After a while, and after playing some ping-pong with Lisa, (who lost to me), I headed over to the living room to find Kaede in there, she was sleeping on the couch. I walked over to the couch, got down on my knees and rubbed my fingers through her hair. I was about to wake her up, when she opened her eyes.

"Hello Matthew," she said in her usual cute way.

"Hi Kaede, are you feeling a little tired?"

"Just a little. For some reason, when I sleep in, I always feel tired."

"I know the feeling, mostly through experience of course," I said quietly.

Kaede just smiled as she stared at me, "were you playing ping pong again?" she asked me.

"I was, and I beat Lisa just to let you know. Although, that girl is good at playing that game, she almost beat me a few times."

"I wish I could play that game with you, but I'm really not that good."

"Oh Kaede," I said kindly as I placed my left hand on her left shoulder and rubbed it nice and softly, "if you would like, I could teach you how to play that game."

"I would like that, but can we can do that tomorrow night?"

"Of course we can."

Kaede then got up till she was sitting up, then she got up from the couch. I got up to my feet, and then we hugged with our arms wrapped around each other.

"Matthew..."

"What is it Kaede?"

"Did you bring that sword with you?"

"Nope, I gave it back to Nerine's father until we return, it's better to be safe than sorry."

"I guess so."

We stood there in silence for less than a minute before I spoke up again.

"Kaede, would you like to dance with me again?"

"I love to," she said sounding excited again.

By this time, Nerine and Daryl, along with Asa and Rin came walking into the room, Michael stood at the far end of the room. I plugged in my Ipod into the portable speakers, then after searching through the list, I found the perfect song for us to dance along to, it's called 'Let's Go Higher' by 'Johnny Reid'.

Rin was nervous at first, but he did dance with Asa, while Nerine and Daryl danced almost right away, and the same could be said about Kaede and I. Personally, I think they really enjoyed this song.

"Michael," called a voice.

Michael looked to his right and noticed Sakura standing close by, "would you like to dance with me?"

"I would," he began, "except the song is almost over."

"It's okay Michael," I called, "I can always put on another song."

I looked through the list until I found the perfect song, 'Hanging by a Moment' by 'Lifehouse'. "Very well," said Michael, "one song and that's it."

I only groaned to myself, Michael sure was broken up badly by being dumped. Still, he did dance with Sakura, they spun round and round more than a few times, and I swear that I saw a smile on Michael's face, and that of course made Sakura very happy.

They danced none stop, that was until the song was done.

"Thanks for the dance Sakura," he said in a kind way, then he went back to being miserable, "now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

And with that, he walked out of the living room and walked back to his room.

"Poor Michael," said Asa, "I've never seen anyone that depressed before."

"I saw it all the time when I got dumped," I said out loud, "trust me when I say this, it hurts alot to be dumped."

Asa looked over to Kaede, she could only imagine that Kaede must've gone through the same thing when Rin made his big decision, and now she was wondering if Sia and Nerine felt the same way too.

"I'm sorry that I brought that up earlier," I was saying to Kaede as I waited outside of our room.

"It's okay Matthew, it doesn't bother me as much as it used to."

"Let me guess, is it because we're married now?"

"That's it," she called.

At this time, I was already in my pajamas and now I was waiting for Kaede. She soon came out of the bedroom wearing her grey pajamas that look similar to her white dress.

"It'll be tough for Sakura to cheer Michael up," I said to Kaede, "but after seeing those two dancing together tonight, I don't think she'll have to try too hard."

"They might actually become a couple."

"They might - but that probably won't be happening for a while, or even if they will."

"I think they might," she then whispered into my left ear, "Sakura once told me that she has a crush on Michael."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Wow," I gasped.

We then walked back into the bedroom and layed down on the bed, side by side as always. That was until Kaede asked me, "would it be okay if I sleep on top of you tonight?"

I was silent for a few seconds, then I answered her question, "of course you can."

And so, Kaede moved over to where I was, but she didn't lay down just yet. She and I were face to face at this time, our lips came closer and closer to each other and then we kissed for three minutes.

"Good night Matthew."

"Good night Kaede, I'll see you in the morning," I then winked at her, and she giggled in a happy way.

She then moved down a bit until her head was resting on my chest, I then wrapped my arms around her, then we closed our eyes and went happily to sleep.


	4. I Love You

Well my friends, I am proud to present the fourth episode of 'Our Kinda Trip', I'm very proud of this chapter, as I not only get in moments between 'Kaede' and 'Matthew', but also giving some of the other couples a moment in the spotlight. After this chapter, everyone will be heading off to the realm of the gods, but I don't want to give away too much about what's to come. Also note that the date in this chapter is October 16th. And this episode's title was inspired by Martina McBride's song 'I Love You'. Anyways, here's the fourth chapter, enjoy!

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 4: I Love You**_

The next morning, Kaede woke up and looked at me, still sleeping. She didn't wake me up until ten minutes after she woke up, "I hope you don't mind if I wake you up early this morning," she said kindly.

"I don't mind Kaede," I smiled as I rubbed her back nice and gently.

After a few minutes, we both got out of bed and went over to our suitcases. I went off to the washroom to get changed, while Kaede got changed in our room. After a few minutes, we walked over to the living room - where Asa and Rin could be seen.

"What are you two doing up so early?" I asked.

"I wasn't feeling that sleepy," Rin answered, "so I decided to walk around the cottage for a bit, but just as I was about to walk out, I noticed Asa sitting on the couch."

"I was just reading one of the books I got before our trip began," said Asa, "that was until I saw Rin walk over here."

"We were just talking about the good times we've had," Rin added.

"Matthew and I do that all the time," Kaede smiled as she walked over to the chair and sat down, while I sat down on the arm-rest on the left side of the chair.

"So, what were you talking about? If you don't mind if I ask," I said.

"Well, we were talking about our first date a couple of minutes ago," Asa answered, "it was nice, but it could've been better."

She eyed Rin with a stern look on her face.

"I said I was sorry about that day," he said, "but I did have a good time with you."

"Hey Asa," I said this time, "is it true that after your first date with Rin that you slapped him on the face? And just for the record, Kaede told me everything."

"Yes I did slap him," she answered, "the only reason I did that was because I was mad at him because everyone told him to ask me out."

"That's true," Rin sighed unhappily, "but I didn't go with all their plans, we did what we wanted to do, remember?"

"I remember, like the pictures we got that day. I only wish we still had them."

Kaede looked down to the floor in shame, she knew what happened to those pictures, "it's okay," I whispered softly to her and rubbing her left shoulder softly, "it's okay."

"Thank you Matthew," she whispered back to me, then she looked back to Asa, "Asa, aren't you still a little bad mad at me for what I did?"

"Of course not, I can never stay mad at anyone forever."

Kaede sighed happily just hearing that.

"To think though, Rin and I have been a couple for two years already," Asa smiled as she looked over to Rin, "I've been really happy ever since we became a couple."

"I've been really happy about being a couple too," Rin smiled.

"You two sound just like us," I chuckled.

Asa, Rin and Kaede couldn't help but chuckle over that joke. Then we continued talking about the good times we shared until everyone was up and we were called into the kitchen for breakfast.

Throughout that day, we just relaxed at the cottage, some of us playing some of the games in the 'game room' or outside of the cottage, while the others were just relaxing on lawn chairs.

Poor Dave looked wiped out by the end of the day, "I've been trying to spend some time with Sia and Kikyou, seperatly - it's not easy," he muttered and walked off to his room.

No sooner was he out of sight, then we got a few unexpected guests, the first of which was Sage.

"I'm sorry if I'm interupting anything," she said in a kind way.

"Oh no, you weren't interupting anything," I said kindly.

"That's good. Anyways, I brought along two guests with me..."

She moved out of the way, revealing the guests, it was Max and Monty the twin boys. When Primula saw Max, she ran up to him and gave him a big hug, which made them fall onto the floor.

"Sorry Max," Primula said shyly.

"It's okay Primula, I'm just happy to see you - and yes, I've gotten over that flu."

"MONTY!" Daisy cried as she ran up to the second twin. She gave him a kiss on the lips, which he excepted and kiseed her back, then he wrapped his arms around her.

"That's so cute," said Sage, "Well, I better head off for home, I'll see you all later!"

"See you later Sage," I called.

After Sage left, Daisy and Monty stopped kissing, but they didn't let go of each other, "how are you feeling Monty?"

"I'm feeling much better," he smiled, "especially since I'm here with you my sweet princess."

"Well I'm happy that you're here my prince," she said as she gave Monty another hug.

At this time, Primula was helping Max back to his feet - then they kissed on the lips for a minute, "I love you Max."

"And I love you too Primula - even though I haven't seen you in a few days, I really missed you."

Primula blushed at that moment, but she smiled too, "I really missed you too Max - I'm so happy to see you again." She then held out her left hand and Max grabbed it softly with his right hand, then they walked past us as Primula wanted to give Max a tour of the cottage.

"Matt," Daisy called to me, "would it be okay if Monty and I sleep together tonight?"

"I don't see a reason why not, but you'll need to ask Nerine, it is her cottage after all."

Daisy did ask Nerine, and she said yes, and of course that made them really happy.

Later that evening, I was waiting out in the hallway for Kaede to get changed into her pajamas, when I saw both Itsuki and Mayumi walk off to the living room.

"I wonder what those two are up to," I thought to myself.

Just before they walked into the living room, they stopped and stared into each other's eyes - then they kissed on the lips. When Kaede came out, she could see them kissing for another minute and a half.

After they were done kissing, they walked over into the living room - we did the same thing a few seconds later.

"Oh hi Matthew, hi Kaede," said Mayumi.

"Hey you two," I said, "are you guys enjoying this trip?"

"We are," Itsuki answered, then he asked, "you didn't see us kiss did you?"

"We did," said Kaede, "we're sorry."

"There's no need to be sorry, we don't mind if others see us kiss, isn't that right Mayumi?"

"That's right," she nodded happily.

Once again, Kaede sat in the chair again, while I sat on the arm rest.

"We've been really happy ever since we became a couple," said Mayumi, "And to think, Itsuki used to insult me and I used to beat him up all the time."

"Oh that's true," I chuckled, "you two were doing that when I first moved to Tokyo."

"Oh yeah," Itsuki groaned, "I still can't believe I acted like that once, what on Earth was I thinking?"

"It's okay Itsuki," said Mayumi in a kind way, "you don't need to keep beating yourself up over those insults, that's all in the past."

"Yeah, you're right Mayumi," he said happily.

Early the next morning, Kaede and I got changed into our swimsuits and walked off downstairs to where the pool was. I was wearing dark blue swim trunks with a red line on both sides, while Kaede was wearing a white swim suit with little orange dots on it.

We were soon to find out that we weren't the only ones who wanted to go for an early morning swim.

"Hi Matthew and Kaede," called Daryl, "let me guess, you guys want to swim for a while, am I right?"

"Yes," I answered.

"I guess great minds think alike," said Nerine, giggling a little bit.

If you're wondering about the size of Nerine's swimming pool, it's about the same size of a hotel swimming pool, only without a deep end in it.

Anyways, Kaede and I did a little bit of swimming at the far end of the pool, and just like the days we went to the beach for a swim, Kaede and I held hands as we swam, the only difference is that we didn't go under the water.

Then after swimming for a while, we rested for a bit at the stairs and spent some time talking to Daryl and Nerine. They were telling us how happy they've been since they became a couple.

"I'll admit we got off to a rocky start," said Nerine, "especially after the whole monster fighting business, but after all the fighting was done, we really started acting like a couple."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said. I could well remember the monster hunt as I had many sleepless nights during the summer just helping Nerine to fight those monsters.

"You were guys were lucky not to be caught by the police," said Daryl.

"Yeah we were lucky, and to also escape those fights with very little injuries."

"Daryl," Nerine spoke up next, "I'm really sorry that I worried you during that time..."

"It's okay Nerine," he said in a kind way, then in the next moment, Daryl was kissing Nerine on the lips. She looked a little surprised at first, but after a while, she did except the kiss and hugged Daryl back.

"They're so cute together," Kaede smiled.

"Love's in the air for sure," I smiled.

Kaede and I looked each other in the eyes, then we kissed on the lips for a few minutes. After the kissing was done, we continued to swim for another half hour, then we got out and headed off for our rooms.

Kaede was the first to get changed in our room, then once she was changed, I went back in to change into a simple South Simcoe Railway T-Shirt, dark blue jeans, grey socks and my almost worn out running shoes.

"Matthew," Kaede called from the other side of the door, "I was wondering, would it be okay if we go out for a small walk before breakfast?"

"Sure Kaede, we can do that, is it just a small walk around the cottage?"

"Yes," she answered, "And is it okay if we hold hands too?"

"You don't need to ask me at all Kaede, you know the answer is always yes, we can hold hands - like we always do."

I had finally gotten changed into my clothes and walked out of the room, Kaede was standing right there and she was blushing again. She held out her left hand and I grabbed it softly with my right hand.

"Are you ready Kaede?"

"I'm ready Matthew."

I looked down to her hand and noticed that she had on the beautiful diamond ring that I gave her back in September when I proposed to her.

"You really like that ring don't you?" I asked her.

"Yes I do," she smiled, "I love it because you gave it to me when you proposed. That was one of the happiest moments in my life, that and our actual wedding - I'm happy to be your wife Matthew, you make everyday a special one, just like you have always done."

"And you do the same for me all the time Kaede," I said in a kind way, I then gave her a kiss on the left side of her face.

She was really blushing at this time, and so was I, then she got up on her toes and kissed me on the right side of my face. We stood there in complete silence for less than a minute, then we both walked through the hallways and out the door to begin our walk around the cottage.

As we walked around the cottage, we came upon a sad looking Michael standing out on the porch.

"It's not fair," he said quietly, "I thought I was being a good boyfriend for Destiny and yet - I feel so lonely. Maybe I wasn't meant to fall in love."

"Don't say that," I said, "you'll find true love."

"But when?" I asked.

Neither Kaede or I answered, we didn't have an answer at this time. The silence was finally broken by Sakura, "hey Michael, would you like to play some ping pong with me?"

"I don't know," he said and went quiet for a few seconds, then he gave Sakura his answer, "Sure why not."

"Great!" Sakura smiled happily.

We watched both Michael and Sakura head off back to the cottage, at this time, Michael was indeed smiling and as I had said before, that made Sakura smile.

"He just might find his true love sooner than he thinks," I said after a while.

"Yeah," Kaede agreed happily with me.

We continued our little walk around the cottage, until we came upon a cute scene - there was Daisy and Monty - kissing on the lips, just laying on the grass (okay, Monty was on the grass while Daisy was laying on top of him).

"They're so adorable," Kaede smiled.

"They are," I said quietly, although I didn't sound as excited as Kaede was.

Later that evening, I was just resting on a lawn chair out on the porch when I heard someone coming out - it was Daisy.

"Hey Matt, what are you doing out here alone?"

"I'm just relaxing - Kaede is swimming in the pool again.."

"Shouldn't you be with her?"

"Yes," I said, then I got up from the chair, "Daisy, I want to ask you, how much do you love Monty?"

"I love him as much as I love you," she answered, "he's a lot like you, so kind and sweet and he's a perfect gentleman."

"We are talking about the same Monty that's Max's brother, the same Monty who once cried his eyes out because Primula chose Max instead him, right?"

"Yes it is the same Monty - why, is there something wrong with me being with him?"

"No, there's nothing wrong, it's just - when I see you and Monty together, I feel like I've lost my baby sister."

"Oh Matthew," (that's the first time she's called me by my complete name since I adopted her), "you're not losing me, even though I'm in love with Monty and I do go out with him alot, I will always be your little sister. I will never forget all you did for me, it's thanks to you that I'm here and it's thanks to you that I am the girl I am today - I am and always be enterily grateful for what you did. Thank you - Matt, my wonderful big brother."

"You're welcome Daisy," I said while smiling.

No sooner was I standing up, then Daisy came forward and gave me a hug, and I hugged her back. We hugged for a couple of minutes, then we backed away after that.

"If you want to go see Monty, you can go," I said to her.

"Thank you," she then walked back to the house, but stopped before she got inside, "I love you Big Brother."

"And I'll always love you little sister," I smiled back.

She then winked at me and walked back inside the house. I stood in complete silence for less than a minute, then I sighed a happy sigh.

"I promise you I won't let anything hurt Daisy," said another voice, it was Monty, he was standing by the doorway, "I was just looking for Daisy when I overheard your conversation and - well, I didn't know much you cared about her."

"It's okay Monty, I know she's in good hands with you," I then looked away at that moment, "it's just amazing, I've only been Daisy's brother for less than five months and I've grown attached to her like a real big brother would."

"Well I know the feeling," Monty said quietly.

"Monty, let me ask you, how much do you love Daisy?"

"I love her alot as much as I love my family."

"That's good to hear - I know you'll stay true to your promise. If you want to be with Daisy right now, then go - I know she's looking for you right now."

"Right, thanks Matthew."

He then ran off to find Daisy, I sighed once more, then I walked back inside. As I passed the living room, I could see Asa and Rin kissing again, then I could see Mayumi and Itsuki sharing a drink in the kitchen and I saw Nerine and Daryl coming up from the game room, they were holding hands.

A little later, Kaede was swimming around in the pool, while Max and Primula swam on the other end of the pool. She stopped for a minute to catch her breath, when she felt someone giving her a tap on her right shoulder. She turned around to see - me standing right behind her (I had gotten changed into my swim trunks a few minutes ago).

"Hi Matthew," she said sweetly.

"Hi Kaede."

"You look so sad, what's wrong?"

"It's mostly a brother and sister thing," and I told her about my conversation with both Daisy and Monty, "truth be told, I was worried that I was going to lose my little sister, but there wasn't anything to worry about. I know this might sound crazy but..."

"It's not crazy, I can understand how you feel - I felt the same thing when I heard that Rimu and Max were a couple."

We were both silent for a couple of seconds, then we looked back to each other with smiles on our faces.

"At least I know Daisy is with someone like Monty, he might be a little crazy at times, but she did say that he's a lot like me, so I have no reason to worry."

"Yeah, you're right Matthew."

"Now, shall we swim - together?"

"Yes."

Kaede held out her right hand and I grabbed it softly with my left hand, then we started to swim around in the pool for another few minutes until we stopped to catch our breath.

After another minute, Kaede and I went under the water, as we did so, we kissed on the lips (an underwater kiss, that's something we haven't done before). We kissed for less than a minute, then we came back up for air.

"That was different," she said to me, "And I liked it."

"So did I," I said quietly to her.

Once we caught our breath again, we swam back to the stairs and walked off back to our room. Just as we were leaving the pool, we could see Sakura and Michael walking back upstairs, laughing, smiling and holding hands.

"I know I said this already, but they look so cute together," Kaede smiled.

"Yeah, you're right Kaede," I said happily, then I gave her a kiss on the left side of her face, and she gave me a kiss on the right side of my face.

We then walked back upstairs to our room, Kaede got changed in the bedroom while I got changed in the washroom. We stayed up a couple more hours, just dancing in the living room and listening to some of our favourite love songs like 'My Heart Will Go On' by 'Celine Dion', 'My Wish' by 'Rascal Flatts' and 'Hanging By a Moment' by 'Lifehouse'.

After a while, we were finally tired and ready to go to bed. We said our good nights to each as we usually do, and we kissed on the lips for a couple of minutes.

"I love you Matthew."

"And I love you too Kaede."

We then closed our eyes and went happily to sleep, hugging each other as we slept.

The next morning, we packed up all of our suitcases into our vehicles as we were finally ready to go to the realm of the gods.

"Hey Nerine," I said, "I think I speak for all of us when I say - thank you for inviting us to stay for a week in your cottage."

Nerine blushed modestly, "you're very welcome and that goes out to everyone."

Once everything had been packed up in our vehicles and the cottage had been locked up, we were finally ready to go. Nerine's car lead the way once again, while the rest of us followed along. Just to let you know, Max and Monty are riding in the same vehicle that Rin is driving.

"Okay, we're ready to go," I said, then I looked back to Naomi, "and please don't ask me 'are we there yet'?"

"Then how am I suppose to know?"

"You'll know when we get there," Daisy said as a joke.

Naomi sulked quietly while the four of us chuckled at that little joke. Kaede moved over till she was sitting beside me, then she placed her head on my right shoulder.

"You don't mind, do you?"

"I don't mind at all," I said happily. Once I got the truck in gear, I placed my right hand on Kaede's right shoulder, just as we finally got started for the next stage of our trip.


	5. Surprises

As mentioned before, this chapter is going to be the start of the 'realm of the gods' portion of the trip. This episode was inspired by the 'Shuffle! Memories' episode 12, and a dream I had most recently about being with Kaede and everyone else on a boat trip. Just for the record, this episode is still rated PG with no swearing, but there is going to be a little bit of excitment and action included. Enjoy! And also note that the date of this chapter is October 19th.

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 5: Surprises**_

We arrived at Sia's cottage at four in the afternoon yesterday, so we spent the afternoon exploring one of the nearby towns, it was alot like my old hometown, Markham. Today however, we were finally on board the boat that was on loaned to us by Sia's father. This boat was huge, I swear that it's bigger than three ocean passenger liners X2, (seriously, that's big!)

Anyways, I was just relaxing on a lawn chair and waiting for everyone to come out. At this time, I was already in my dark blue swim trunks and wearing my usual light blue T-Shirt.

"Hi Matthew," called a voice.

I looked to my right and noticed Sia standing close by, "hi Sia," I said.

"I still don't know how you can tell Kikyou and I apart," she said sounding surprised.

"There are simple ways to tell you and Kikyou apart, the main one is your voice, her's is a little deeper than yours."

"Really? Wow!" she said, then she looked at me with a serious look on her face, "do you mind if I talk to you about something serious?"

"Sure Sia, what's on your mind?"

"Well I was just wondering, do you think I have a chance to be Dave's girlfriend?"

"Of course you do. In case you've forgotten, you have been going out with Dave a lot more than Kikyou has - and I think he likes you alot, but of course, you might want to ask him if he has feelings for you."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'm sure."

"Well - okay, thanks Matthew." She then walked off the swimming pool (yes, there is a swimming pool in case you're asking me).

After a few minutes, we were all gathered on the deck, some were swimming in the pool, while some were at the picnic table and having something cold to drink. As for Michael, well - he wasn't doing either one, he stood all alone at the front of the ship with the same depressed look he's had since our trip began.

"Poor guy," said Itsuki, "it must be a terrible feeling to be dumped."

"Just be lucky you have never experienced it," I said, "I've experienced it four times in my life."

"Check this out!" called a voice from the pool. Who could've said that but Asa, she was on the diving board - she jumped into the air and splashed into the water like a perfect diver, "would you like to give it a try Kaede?"

"No thanks," she answered as kindly as she could.

"What about you Rina?"

"No thanks," she answered, "if I try jumping from there, I'll just upset my stomach."

The girls were silent for a while, I don't think they like hearing that.

"I'll give it a try," said Sia. She got out of the water and walked up the diving board, then she jumped and splashed into the water like a professional too, "hey Dave!" she called, "come in and join us!"

"I'll come in a few minutes, I just finished my drink!"

At this time, only the girls were in the pool, except for Sakura, while us guys were enjoying some refreshments.

"Are you going to come in Itsuki?" Mayumi called.

"In a few minutes okay?" he called in a kind way.

"Okay!" she called back and went back to swimming.

Itsuki then looked back over to me, "it's thanks to you Matthew that Mayumi and I are a couple. Come to think of it, it's because of you that Max is with Primula, Monty with Daisy, Dave with Sia and Daryl with Nerine."

"I didn't do that much," I said.

"You could've fooled us," said Dave, "I mean come on, if you hadn't invited my brother and I over, Daryl and I would never have met Sia and Nerine."

"And you were the one who told me to get rid of my stupid pick up lines," said Itsuki, "thanks to you, Mayumi and I are together."

"And it's thanks to you that we became who we are today," said Max, "And it's all thanks to your advice."

"You even prevented me from breaking up with Asa," said Rin.

"You're like a role model to all of us," said Monty, "the one person who's always giving us the best advice we need, and on an occasion, you're never afraid to show us that we have done something wrong."

"Literally," Rin muttered quietly, remembering back to that night I punched him.

"I wouldn't go as far as that," I said then I went back to drinking my drink.

"But you have to admit that you do know more than any of us," said Daryl.

"That's only because I learned all that through life experience. As I have told you guys before, I never had an easy childhood and my life was pretty rough during my teenage years too, I learned alot of those lessons the hard way..."

"Through painful moments right?" asked a voice from behind me.

I looked up to see who said that - it was Kaede, she looked down to me with a small smile on her face.

"You guessed right Kaede," I answered her, "but of course I told you all of this online and after we met in person. So why aren't you swimming with the others?"

"I wanted to be here with you," she said while blushing.

"How cute," Max said quietly, then he whispered to his brother, "do you think they'll kiss again?"

"Need you ask?" Monty knew that we would.

And sure enough, we did kiss again, this time it was an upside down kiss.

In a short while, Kaede and I were relaxing on a lawn chair near the front of the ship. Kaede was laying there on top of me with her head resting on my chest while I had my arms wrapped around her.

"Hey Kaede, do you remember the last time we did an upside down kiss?"

"I do, it was on the second night after we got married. You were just relaxing on the bed, then I came over to the bed and sat there behind you. You were looking up to me and I was looking down to you..."

"Yeah, and as I remember, you were blushing bright red at that time."

"So were you," she giggled, then she continued, "we looked me in the eyes, then I learned down and we kissed..."

At this time, Kaede was kissing me on the lips again. We kissed for a grand total of three minutes before we seperated to catch our breath.

"I love you Matthew."

"And I love you too Kaede."

We then closed our eyes and went to sleep for a few minutes, that was until we were woken up by Little Sis, "I hate to bother your nap you two," she said in a cheeky way, then she spoke in a serious way, "but Rin and Rina have disappeared."

"Yeah sure they did," I said, sounding like I didn't believe her.

"They've been gone for an entire hour now," said Daisy.

"In that case we better go look for them," I said.

Kaede got up first, then I got up from the chair, placed my T-Shirt back on, then we headed off for the inside rooms of the ship.

"I tell you that they have gone missing and you don't move," Naomi grumbled, "and yet when Daisy says it to you, you get up without wasting a second. Why?"

"Mostly because I can't tell if you're joking or being serious."

"HEY!" she cried out loud.

"I'm only kidding Little Sis, now come on."

We searched throughout the entire ship, (Sia, Asa, Naomi, Itsuki, Mayumi, Kaede and I), but there was no sign of Rin or Nerine. Kaede walked into the small cafetaria area of the ship and sat down on one of the big chairs in that room.

"This is strange," I said as I came walking into the room, "we've searched all over this ship and yet there is no sign of them."

I leaned aganist a table that sat close to Kaede's chair.

"Matthew, what do you think they are doing?"

"I don't know Kaede, they're probably trying to find their way back to the main deck."

"Are you sure?" she asked me looking worried.

"I'm sure, I mean it's not like those two would do something they would regret later on. Still though, I'm thinking that their disappearance has a lot to do with magic."

"Do you really think so?"

"I'm not completely sure, we won't know for sure until we find them. We can't give up, right?"

"Right," she smiled.

She held out her right hand and I grabbed it nice and gently with my left hand, then I helped her to her feet. We then walked out of the cafetaria with our hands still holding onto each other.

As we came out to the hallway, we met up with Sia and Asa.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"I don't know," Asa answered, "it's been a while since we've seen them - you don't think they got lost do you?"

"Or maybe they disappeared like Rina and Rin," said Sia with a worried tone in her voice.

That kind of talk got Kaede worried, but I tried to remain as calm as I could, "they probably got lost somewhere. We'll probably find them if we split up and search for them."

"But..." Kaede began but stopped when I looked down to her.

"Excpet for you and me, we'll look for them together."

She sighed in relief, and Sia & Asa giggled quietly. We then headed out on our seperate ways.

In about ten minutes, Kaede and I returned to that very spot, but there was no sign of Sia or Asa.

"Okay now this is freaky," I said out loud, "first Rin and Nerine disappear, then Naomi, Mayumi and Itsuki disappear, and now those two. I'm starting to think that some kinda weird magic was used."

"Like that!" Kaede said nervously as she looked down the hallway.

I looked down the hallway, and that's when I saw a floating mirror with wings coming towards us. It was glowing brightly.

"That's not good," I muttered, "RUN!"

Kaede held on tight to my right hand as we ran as fast as we could to get away from that mirror. We stopped after ten seconds when we hid out of sight from it, "why are we running from a mirror anyways?"

"I don't know," Kaede answered.

"It'll shrink you," called a small voice.

We looked around but we couldn't see anyone. That was until I saw a small patch of red hair on a nearby table - it was Naomi and she wasn't alone. Sia, Asa, Nerine, Rin, Itsuki, Mayumi and of course Naomi (the source of the red hair) were all there, only a little smaller than normal.

"What in the heck happened to you guys?" I asked.

"It's that mirror," said Nerine, "if it sees a person, then it activites it's powers and makes that person shrink to this size."

"I hate being this little," Naomi groaned.

"Now you're our little, little sis," I chuckled, she shot me an angry look, that was until I spoke in a serious way, "is there a way you can get back to your normal height?"

"There is," said Sia, "if you break the darn thing."

"We've tried," said Nerine, "but our powers are not strong enough to break it."

"Well don't worry my friends, we'll break that mirror for you, just give us some time."

"Just be careful Matthew and you too Kaede," called Asa, "if that thing starts glowing and you're too close to it, it'll shrink you to our size too."

"We'll be careful," said Kaede.

"Isn't that what Matthew usually says?" Mayumi asked.

"Most of the time," I chuckled and Kaede giggled. Then we set off to find that mirror.

We went over to the kitchen to grab a few items that could help - a rolling pin and a metal pot, "these are sure to break that thing into thousands of pieces," I was saying to Kaede. As I looked back to her, I could see that she was nervous.

"Aren't you scared to face something like that?" she asked me nervously.

"Of course I am, but sometimes we have to face scary...ah, things to help our friends and family. If we don't stop that mirror, it'll shrink all of us on this boat, then we'll crash onto shore and...well, you know the rest."

"I do indeed," she groaned.

"Besides, it's not like you're going to face this alone, I'll be by your side - just like I have done many times before."

That helped Kaede calm down, for she showed her trademark smile to me and also showing bravery in her eyes, "thank you Matthew, you always know what to say to cheer me up."

"Well you know me," I smiled.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's smash that mirror!"

"You got it," I smiled.

Kaede took hold of the rolling pin and I took the metal pot, then we headed out in the hallways. And just to make sure that the mirror wouldn't sneak up on us, we stayed together and watched each other's backs.

Then after a few minutes, we could see it just down one of the hallways, "what's it doing?" Kaede asked.

"It's just floating about," I whispered, "I'll take that thing out."

"Wait, I think I have an idea that could work - maybe you could bring it over here and I'll whack it hard with the rolling pin. It'll be too risky for you to go down the hallway, it could turn around and shrink you."

"Hmm, good point there Kaede. I say we go with your plan."

Kaede giggled quietly, while I moved into position and shouted, "hey you stupid piece of garbage, come and get me!"

The mirror must've heard me, cause it came towards me, moving faster than I thought. I ran back to the wall - then once it was close enough, Kaede whacked the darn thing with the rolling pin. The resulting smack broke the mirror into more than a few dozen pieces and fell to the floor, breaking into more pieces.

"Wow!" I gasped, "nice hit Kaede."

"Thank you," she said as I whacked the thing again to make sure it wouldn't be able to get back up again.

We then ran back to where our friends were, and to our relief, they were all back to their normal height again.

"That's better," groaned Naomi, "I didn't like being the size of an ant anyways."

"Thanks you two," said Itsuki.

"You should be thanking Kaede, for it was her who destoryed that mirror."

And that's what they did, they thanked Kaede for destorying the mirror.

"Why did you do that?" she asked me later that night.

"What?"

"Let me take all the credit for destorying that mirror, you helped out too you know."

"Well, it's mostly because it was your idea after all, I was only helping. You're the real hero tonight Kaede."

"Do you really mean it?"

"Of course I do," I then looked out to the ocean, "of course this wouldn't the first time you've done something heroic, you saved me on more than a dozen occasions, and that includes when you invited me to move in with you. To put it simply Kaede," I said as I looked back to her, "you're my hero."

"I...I'm your hero?"

"Yes."

"Oh..ah, thank you Matthew, but you know something? You're my hero too, from when we used to talk online to what you did for me when those knuckleheads attacked me. You've always been there for me."

I smiled at that moment, then I held out my left hand and Kaede held out her right hand. We were silent for a while, then - as we looked into each other's eyes, then we closed our eyes and we kissed on the lips. As we kissed, Sia and Kikyou lit up some fireworks and launched them into the air.

"Does this remind you of anything?" I asked.

"Yeah, that night at the festival."

"That's right," I smiled.

Meanwhile on another part of the ship, Michael was watching the fireworks with Sakura standing beside him, "aren't they wonderful?" she asked him.

"They sure are," he sighed sadly at that moment and looked down to the water, "I just wonder why she would dump me."

"I don't know," said Sakura, "but don't worry Michael, you'll get over it soon - and who knows, maybe the next time you date a girl, you might actually find your true love."

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course, in the meantime, you just need to be patient."

"Yeah," he said, cheering a little bit.

Close to the pool, Max and Primula were kissing once more. Max was laying on the lawn chair and Primula was laying on top of him.

As for Daisy and Monty, they were sharing a drink together (two straws in one glass). Asa and Rin were swimming in the pool together and they were kissing too.

Daryl and Nerine were brbacuing at this time, Daryl was actually teaching Nerine a few things about using a barbacue, "thank you Daryl," she said kindly to him, "for teaching me."

"You're welcome Nerine," then he gave her another kiss on the right side of her face.

Itsuki and Mayumi were at the front of the ship and enjoying a nice cool breeze. When Mayumi grew a little too cold, Itsuki gave her his shirt to help her stay warm. She was really blushing at that time and so was Itsuki.

"Thank you," she said shyly, then she got up on her toes and gave Itsuki a kiss on the lips.

And as for Kaede and I, we were kissing on the lips again, while we had our arms wrapped around each other. We kissed for a grand total of four minutes, then we watched as the fireworks lit up the night sky. And of course we could hear Sia and Kikyou fighting over Dave again, I guess some things just don't change.

A little later, just before we were to return to the dockyards, Kaede and I went into the pool for another swim. And just like at Nerine's cottage, we kissed under the water.

I know Kaede and I kiss alot, but hey, when you someone alot, wouldn't you do the same thing?

We came back up after a minute for a breath of air, then we went back to swimming.

"I love you Matthew...my hero."

"And I love you too Kaede, _my_ hero."

Kaede just blushed and placed her head softly on my chest and I wrapped my arms around her.


	6. A New Relationship Begins

Well my friends, I am proud to present the sixth episode of 'Our Kinda Trip', it is still rated PG at this given point just to let you know. The last episode was to be a bit of an adaptation of an original episode from 'Shuffle! Memories', but now this episode is going to be all new. This one is going to show the next portion of the visit to the realm of the gods, and for a different change in pace, there's going to be a little bit of action - when though is a secret for right now. Now, before I show off this new episode, I would like to say that I dedicate it to my friends, 'Warrior', 'Jamesfan', 'Anime Boy', 'Danparker', 'Metamorphical', 'Sierracat27', 'Mike11208', 'Hoss', 'Lord Mason' and 'Ginaximmortal'. And now, here is episode 6 (oh and if you want to read more about 'Matthew' and 'Kaede', check out 'Our Kinda Life').

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 6: A New Relationship Begins**_

It had been mostly quiet on October 20th. We hung out at Sia's palace this time, then we went to explore one of the nearby towns, as I have said, it was alot like Markham Ontario. Then after we ate out, we went back to Sia's cottage to relax. Kaede and I were laying side by side outside of the cottage and looking up to the stars.

"There sure are alot of them out tonight aren't there?" I asked.

"There is," then she gasped, "look Matthew, those stars are lined up like a heart."

I looked to those stars, and sure enough, they were in the shape of a heart, "does it remind you of anything?"

"The fireflies," Kaede answered, "they made a heart on the night we first kissed."

"Yeah - Kaede, I love you."

"And I love you too Matthew," we both stood up, then we kissed on the lips for a few minutes. Little did we know that Sia was watching us from a short distance away.

She sighed unhappily, "I wish Dave and I could do that, but I don't think he'll want me, not with Kikyou around."

The next morning, Sia, Dave, Kaede and I were just walking threw the nearby town, just getting some grogeries when we heard, "a human and one of our princesses together? That must be some kind of joke!"

"Who said that?" Sia asked angerily, "I can date whoever I want!"

"Not true," the voice called out, then he showed up. This man was about my age I guess, but was a little shorter than me, "royality is suppose to date royality, not common folk!"

"Who are you calling common folk!" Dave shouted.

"You, that's who!" shouted the man, "so do us a favour and leave Sia alone before I..."

"Hold on a second buddy," I said while standing up for my friends, "that may have been true in the past, but this is the twenty-first century after all and rules change, so Sia can go out with whoever she wants."

"Shut it you, you have no right to interfer!"

"He's only telling the truth," said Sia, now she was standing up for me.

"Just go back to the palace!" the man shouted, "and do as you are told!"

"Excuse me," Dave shouted, "what gives you the right to tell Sia..."

"Shut up you!" the man shouted, he walked forward to Dave in an angry way, "if I wanted your opinion, I would've asked you for it, but I didn't, so please shut up!"

"Are you feeling okay sir?" Dave asked kindly.

"SHUT UP!" the man shouted angerily and threw a single punch to Dave, knocking him down to the ground.

"What is your problem?" asked one of the other customers, "you didn't need to do that!"

"Stay out of this!" he shouted loudly.

"Okay, this guy's flipped his lid," I thought to myself.

Sia tried to defend Dave, but the man was able to push her aside and started kicking Dave in the stomach. He only got a few kicks in before he got punched by someone else - namely me!

"You can't do that common folk," the man snapped at me and spitting some blood out of his mouth, "I'm a king after all."

"Yep, he's lost it," I thought to myself, "Sia, Kaede! Get Dave out of here, I'll take care of this baka!" (For the record, baka means idoit in japanese).

Anyways, that's what Sia and Kaede did, they got Dave away from the crazied man, while I took care of the situation.

"Bring that common folk back, I want to punish him," said the man angerily.

"You wish punk!" I said in a firm way.

There was no way I was going to let this punk hurt one of my friends again, so I had no choice but to fight the guy. Luckily though, I wasn't alone, mostly cause Dave came running back into the fight.

"Stay back Dave, I can handle this!"

"Forget it Matthew," he said, "I'm not going to stand by and let you get hurt. I'll help you take this punk down, I'll show him that I am worthy enough to be Sia's boyfriend!"

Sia gasped when she heard that, "did Dave just say that he wants to be my boyfriend?" she asked Kaede.

"He did say that," she answered.

Sia was at a loss of words, she still couldn't believe what she heard.

"Very well Dave," I nodded, "how about we fight this guy as a team?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me buddy!"

Dave went in first to fight the guy, but was kicked down. I then joined in the fight, but he used some dirty tricks and made me fall to the ground, "now you'll pay," the man snickered, "and when I'm done with you, I will take care of that girl you're with...she's not your type anyways. A japanese girl and a canadian boy, what a joke!"

I was really mad when I heard him say that, "you will do nothing to Kaede," I shouted with an angry tone in my voice, and with that said, I kicked him in the stomach, then I punched him in the face, which knocked him down, "you crazy nut cases make me sick!"

"Shut..."

"No, you shut up!" shouted Dave, as he gave the man a punch to the face. He charged to me again, so I gave him a punch to the face.

Dave and I threw a few more punches to this guy before enough was enough and he fell to the ground.

"Ow," I groaned, "that hurt!" I was shaking my fist as it hurt a little.

Kaede ran over to me to see if I was hurt, "did he hurt you?" she asked me.

"No, I'm okay Kaede, although my knuckles are a little sore, but I'm more concerned about Dave."

"He'll be okay," she then looked over to Dave, I looked too and I could see Sia asking Dave if he was okay.

"I'm okay Sia," he answered, "just a battered that's all, even for a nutcase, he sure can throw a mean punch, ow!" He was shaking his hand at his given point.

"Dave, what you said earlier, about wanting to be my boyfriend - did you mean what you said?"

Dave looked at Sia with a serious look on his face, "yes Sia, I did mean what I said, because it's true. I really like you Sia - actually, I love you Sia, and I was wondering if you would like to be my girlfriend?"

Sia gasped when she heard this, she couldn't believe it. All this time she had been worried that Dave would fall for Kikyou, when all along, he was falling in love with Sia, and Sia alone.

"No," shouted the crazy man, "The answer is..."

"Shut up you," I said angerily, "nobody was asking for your opinion!"

The man went quiet, then I looked back to Sia and Dave, who were still being silent, even when the police arrived to take the crazy man to their jail.

"Sia?" Dave asked.

That finally snapped her out of shock, cause Sia said, "Dave, I would love to be your girlfriend - I love you too!"

She then gave him a kiss...on the lips. She had her arms wrapped around Dave and he had his arms around her.

"They're so cute together," Kaede smiled.

"Yeah, I agree with you Kaede," I said, I then gave her a kiss on the left side of her face, "I know I broke my promise to not fight, so what would like me to do?"

"Well...you can kiss me," and that's just we did, we kissed on the lips for a minute. At around the same time that Sia and Dave stopped kissing, they were really blushing bright red, but they were smiling.

Once we were back on our feet again, we continued to walk around for grogeries, as if nothing had happened at all.

Naturally, the news of our little fight with that crazied wacko got to the cottage before we came in, "are you guys okay?" Daisy asked us.

"We're fine Daisy," I answered, "I only hurt my knuckles, that's it."

"And what about you my brother?" Daryl asked Dave, "you look like you went five rounds with the heavy weight champion of the world and lost."

"I'm fine," Dave chuckled, "I'll say this about that man, he sure can throw a mean punch, he got me a few times."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, and so is Sia," he looked over to Sia, who was blushing brightly.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" I looked over to Little Sis with a serious look, she subsided into silence at that given point.

"Actually," said Sia, "Dave and I do have something to say," she took in a deep breath and said, "we confessed our love to each other after that fight, so we're now official a couple."

There was a lot of silence throughout the entire room for less than a minute, that was until I spoke up, "Well done Dave," I whispered to him, "And congratulations Sia."

Kaede and I then walked past everyone and over to our room, then at last, everyone told Dave and Sia what I had just said and saying how proud they were of them, except for Kikyou, she remained stony faced and angry.

The next day, we were due to find out just how mad Kikyou was. It was only around seven in the morning when we heard loud shouting and by the sounds of things, two people was fighting just outside the cottage.

Kaede and I were woken up quickly by the shouting and ran out to see what was going on, but we weren't alone, Primula, Max, Daisy, Monty, Asa, Rin, Itsuki and Mayumi had been woken up by the noise and were already outside.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It's Sia," said Max.

"And Kikyou," said Monty, "They're fighting."

Sure enough, Sia and Kikyou were indeed fighting, poor Sia looked worse than Dave did yesterday, but Kikyou was not letting Sia go, she was still trying to hurt Sia.

"Sia, Kikyou! Knock it off!" I snapped, I was able to restrain Kikyou, sort of. She sure was stubborn this morning, mostly because she was struggling to get free.

"How dare you Sia!" Kikyou snapped angerily at her, "Dave was suppose to be mine, not yours!"

"That's not true..."

"Will you be quiet?" Kikyou was able to break free and charged once more to Sia, but she never got to Sia.

"Stop it Kikyou!" Dave shouted as he stood in between the two sisters. Kikyou didn't stop though, she punched poor Dave in the stomach, which made him fall to the ground in pain.

"DAVE!" Sia cried, "are you okay?"

Dave didn't say anything for a few seconds, then he finally spoke, "I'm okay, but your sister sure can throw a punch."

"Kikyou!" I shouted angerily, "what the heck is wrong with you?"

"Sia stole my boyfriend!" she said angerily.

"Sia did nothing wrong," Dave groaned as he got back up to his feet, "I told Sia that I love her...and only her. I like you Kikyou, but only as a friend, okay?"

"No, no it's not okay!" She tried to go for Sia again, but she wasn't going anywhere, not with me restraining her.

"Sia is the girl that I love," Dave continued, "she's always been the girl I love ever since I met her. Now, I know you are mad, but that still gives you no excuse to take it out on Sia - if you want to hurt Sia again, you'll have to go through me, understand?"

"Yes," Kikyou sighed, "I understand perfectly," she groaned.

She finally calmed down and admitted defeat. Sia got back up to her feet and walked over to her sister, "Kikyou, I never meant to hurt your feelings, I know how much you liked Dave."

"Ah that's okay," Kikyou said with a small smile on her face, "at least one of us got him as a boyfriend."

"You'll get a boyfriend someday Kikyou," I spoke up next, "it's like I told Sia last year, you'll find somebody who likes you for who are - till then, you got to..."

"Live my life to the fulliest, am I right?"

"Yes, you got it right," I smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, thanks for reminding me Matthew," and with that, Kikyou walked past us and went back inside.

"Are you two okay?" I asked both Dave and Sia.

They nodded their heads at the same time, "We're fine Matthew, thank you for stepping in and helping us again," then she looked back to Dave, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Oh yeah I'm okay," he answered, "what about you? You look like you a round with George Foreman."

"Who?" Naomi asked as she came out to see what was going on.

"He's a former heavy weight champion wrestler," I said answering her question.

"I'm okay Dave," Sia said while groaning a little.

Dave was quite relieved to hear that. He and Sia then walked back inside the house, a little sore and battered from their fight, but they were happy to be together.

A little later, Kaede and I were out exploring the town again, luckily this time around we weren't coming to face to face with any other crazied wackos. In fact, the people in the town were quite friendly to us.

"Yep, this does remind me alot of Markham," I said out loud, "I just wonder if it's the same as it was before."

"It's probably changed," called another voice, it was Michael again. As you can imagine, he was looking miserable at this time, "of course I haven't been there in years."

"Are you enjoying the trip so far Michael?" Kaede asked.

"A little bit yes," he sighed.

At that moment, Sakura showed up, "would you like to go for a walk with me?"

"Sure," he said, showing a small smile on his face. Then the two of them walked away down the street.

Kaede and I spent most of the day walking around the plaza, then we returned to the cottage, mostly to relax on the porch. I was laying on the lawn chair while Kaede was laying on top of me, (just like on the ship).

"I feel sorry for Kikyou, now she doesn't have a boyfriend," Kaede said quietly.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about Kikyou that much," I said quietly, "if I know that girl, it's only a matter of time before she gets a boyfriend of her own. She and Sia may be different, but the one thing that is the same about them is their determination to never give up."

"That's true," Kaede giggled happily.

We stayed there for quite a while, just enjoying the nice warm weather, despite it being October. I was rubbing Kaede's back nice and gently while we listened to some of the songs I had on my Ipod.

"Having fun you two?" a small voice asked, it was Naomi of course.

"We are," I answered, "and what about you Little Sis, are you having fun?"

"I would be, if I knew where Yukie and Shiori are, have you two seen them?"

"Yukie said she was going out for a small walk earlier," Kaede answered, "and I think Shiori went with her."

"I'm right here actually," said another young voice, it was Shiori, "Yukie and I are going to explore the town for a bit, would you like to come along with us Naomi?"

"Sure," she smiled and ran off to join Yukie and Shiori.

"That girl's got a lot of energy to spare doesn't she?" I asked Kaede.

"She does indeed," she giggled quietly again.

A little later, Kaede and I were resting in the living room, once again, she was laying on top of me. I ran my fingers threw her hair, it was so soft and smooth.

"She is so cute, so beautiful," I thought to myself, "and she's my wife."

Kaede was still sleeping at this time, she was snoring softly - that was until she heard someone coming over to the living room. It was Asa Shigure, "oh I'm sorry Kaede, I didn't mean to distrub you and Matthew, I was just looking for Rin."

"That's okay Asa," Kaede said kindly.

"Have you guys seen him by any chance?"

"I've seen him," I said, "he's coming down the hallway right now."

Asa looked behind her, and sure enough, I was right - for there was Rin coming down the hallway, "hi Asa," he said, "I've been looking for you for a while."

"Really? Cause, I've been looking for you."

"Well you two found each other now," I chuckled.

"I guess so," Asa chuckled, then she looked over to Rin, "I was just wondering if you would like to go for a small walk around the cottage with me for a bit."

"I would love to," he answered.

Asa held out her right hand and Rin grabbed it softly with his left hand, then the two of them walked out of the living room. A few seconds later, Sia and Dave came walking into the living, still holding hands.

"Was that Rin and Asa I just heard?" Sia asked.

"Yep, it was Rin and Asa," Kaede answered.

"They were looking for each other," I said this time, "so, what are you two lovers up to?"

"Well after the fight this morning, Dave and I headed out into the town, then we sat side by side underneath that Sakura tree outside of the cottage for a few hours..." she then looked to Dave.

"Then we went into the kitchen to eat some spagetti and meatballs, we actually ended up recreating that scene from..."

"Lady and the Tramp?" I asked.

"Yeah, how did you..."

"I've seen a few times when I was a kid," I answered, "sounds like you two had a good time today huh?"

"You bet," Sia smiled, "oh and I forgot to mention that we did kiss again."

"You two are so lucky," Kaede and I said in unison.

At this time, Kaede was getting up. She then asked me, "Matthew, would it be okay if we dance for a while?"

"Sure Kaede," I smiled.

I gave her my Ipod, then after she got off me, I walked over to my suitcase and pulled out the portable speakers. Then after plugging in my Ipod, I searched threw the list, I found a song that we could all dance to. It's called 'Amazed' by 'Lonestar'. I pressed the play button, and that's when the dancing began.

Kaede and I started the dancing off first, then Sia and Dave joined in. Mayumi and Itsuki were just coming into the room and they started dancing too.

"I think this could be our song, what do you think?" Sia asked.

"Yeah, I think it could be," Dave answered happily. Both of them were blushing happily as they continued to dance, then when the song got to the lyrics, "Baby I'm amazed by you," they kissed again.

Come to think of it, they weren't the only ones kissing, Mayumi and Itsuki were kissing too, and so did Kaede and I.


	7. Start of Something Wonderful

Okay, here is episode 7 of 'Our Kinda Trip', the final part of the 'realm of the gods' portion of the trip. For this episode, I decided to give Michael and Sakura a little more time in the spotlight, especially since they haven't gotten a single episode to themselves since this series began. Anyhow, that's all I have to say, I hope you'll enjoy reading episode 7.

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 7: Start of Something Wonderful**_

It was around six in the morning on October 23rd when I walked out to the front porch and noticed Michael looking out to the town.

"Hey buddy, how are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm okay, I guess," he sighed.

"You're still thinking about her aren't you?" Michael nodded his head slowly in reply, "hey buddy, it's okay - I know how hard it is to be dumped, but..."

"I know, I'll find my true love someday," he interupted, "but I doubt it'll be anytime soon."

"Well you never know, you might find your true love during this trip..."

"Then say goodbye when we leave," he interupted for the second time.

"Or, you could find your true love from one of the single girls that are with us on this trip, like maybe - Sakura," Michael didn't look over to me, he was still lost in his own little world.

Speaking of the black haired girl, there she was - she was coming out to see Michael again. I decided to leave the two alone so that they could talk. As I reached the door, I looked back over to Sakura and Michael, and like so many times before during this trip, I could see him smiling as the two spoke.

"Way to go you two," I whispered quietly.

Later that morning, we were all going to gather in the living room for breakfast. Today it had been made by Kaede, Asa, Sia and myself of course. Primula had also taught Max how to cook.

"How am I doing?" he asked her.

"You're doing good," she smiled as she tasted a bit of his cooking, "you're a fast learner Max, I'm impressed."

"Thanks Primula," he smiled and gave Primula a cute little hug. Primula blushed when Max hugged her.

"Hey, has anyone seen my little sister?" I asked.

"You mean me?" asked Naomi.

"No, I knew you were there, I was talking about Daisy."

"Last time I checked," said Michael as he walked into the kitchen, "I saw Daisy with Monty, they were kissing on the front porch again."

"Well at least I now know where my little sister is," I chuckled while smiling. Kaede was giggling at this time.

We were soon eating breakfast, Sia was talking at this time, "there's a special festive going on tomorrow night, it's like one of those traditional japanese festives from the old days."

"What time does it start?" Naomi asked.

"At around seven, why?"

"Just wondering," she answered quickly and went back to eating her meal.

"Just one question here," Monty spoke up, "since this is like a traditional japanese festive, do we have to wear robes?" Sia nodded her head in answer to his question.

"Why do you ask Monty?" Daisy asked.

"I'm just curious as all, I remember the last time I wore one of those robes..."

"Oh yeah," Max chuckled, "he tripped over the robe and ended up in a mud puddle."

"Like I said that day, it wasn't funny. It's just that I wasn't used to wearing them, I'm used to wearing jeans, at least I don't trip over them."

"Except on a rare occasion," Max muttered quietly, it was lucky for him that his brother never heard a single word he said (cause that would've started an argument between the two).

"You don't have to wear the robes if you don't want to," said Kikyou quietly, "it's your choice really."

"Really? Even so, I'll wear robes," said Monty, "if Daisy will come with me."

"I would love to," she smiled.

A little later that afternoon, I was walking past the living room as I going to meet up with Kaede out on the front porch, and that's when I noticed Naomi 'rocking' out. She was singing along to a rock song called 'Up All Night' by 'Matt Willis'. I personally think she was better at singing along to songs from Michael Buble or any of her favourite country music groups.

Anyhow, I walked past the living room and out the door to the porch, Kaede was out there waiting for me.

"Was that Naomi I just heard?" she asked.

"Yeah that was Naomi, she was singing out loud again, this time to a rock song," I groaned for as I heard her singing like a rockstar, "I think she should stick to singing to Michael Buble songs."

Kaede giggled quietly as I sat down beside her on the deck.

"So where are Michael and Sakura?"

"They're walking around the cottage," she answered, "they're actually holding hands."

"You're kidding, they're holding hands?" I asked, Kaede nodded her head happily, "wow! Well that's good for them. Now getting off topic about Michael and Sakura, would you like to go to the festival with me?"

"You don't need to ask," she giggled happily, "you know my answer is 'yes', I would love to go to the festival with you."

"Okay then, I'm just not sure if I'm going in a robe."

"It's up to you Matthew, if you don't want to wear a robe, you don't have to. You didn't last year remember?"

"Yeah, but I felt a little silly for wearing my normal clothes when 96% percent of the people at the festival were wearing robes. What about you though, are you going to wear a robe?"

"I am," she answered, "I'm going to be going into town later to get mine."

It was then that we noticed both Michael and Sakura walking over towards the porch, Michael wasn't smiling at this time and neither was Sakura.

"Hey buddy," I called to Michael, "is something wrong?"

"I think you know the answer to that," he groaned, "I hate being alone."

"You weren't alone Michael," said Sakura, "I was with you."

"You know what I meant," he groaned again and walked inside.

"Okay I'll bite, what was that about?" I asked.

"We were just walking past a maple tree and that brought up a memory of the times he used to spend with Destiny. Throughout the rest of our walk, he wouldn't say a single word - until we came back here. He must've really liked Destiny."

"Yeah he did - but hey, don't give up okay, you've been making good progress so far."

"Matthew's right," Kaede said in agreement, "you've gotten Michael to smile a few times during this trip and you also got to hold hands with him."

"That's true."

"Who knows Sakura," I said to her, "you might get better luck at tomorrow night's festival."

"That is assuming Michael will want to go to the festival..."

"...I'm not going," Michael was saying later that night as I was talking to him.

"And why not?"

"I just don't feel like going."

I had been trying to convince Michael to go to the festival for the last ten minutes already, but he was still refusing to go, "Come on Michael, you can't stay locked up in your room forever, you got to get out and enjoy..."

"My life to the fulliest?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered while sounding a little surprised, "how many people have I told that too? Look Michael, I know how hard it is to be dumped, in case you've forgotten, I've been dumped four times in my lifetime before I met Kaede and now look at me - I'm living with a wonderful girl and I also happen to be married to her too."

"I know," he muttered.

"You're still thinking about Destiny aren't you?"

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Okay, I wasn't really going to say this, but what the heck...Sakura has a crush on you."

Michael looked over to me surprised, "She...she's got a crush on me?"

"Yes, she really likes you, just don't tell her I told you, okay?" I asked, Michael nodded his head slowly, "Sakura wants to cheer you up because she really cares about you."

"Did she tell you that?"

"Nope, but it's obvious to see - Kaede and I could see that even when our trip began."

Michael was silent for a while, so I broke the silence again, "tell me Michael, do you like Sakura?"

"Well...yeah, I mean she's a kind sweet girl, she's a hard worker and she's never afraid to speak her mind, from what I have heard," he then sighed unhappily, "I'm not sure if I want to start up a new relationship so soon after Destiny broke up with me..."

"Well it's up to you buddy, but for goodness sakes, don't shut your friends out from your life. That feeling of loneliness will go away before you know it and you'll find yourself hugging that special someone that you will love forever. Trust me buddy, I know what I'm talking about."

"I trust you," he answered as he looked down to the floor, "maybe I will go to the festival - maybe..."

And with that said, Michael walked away back to his room.

"Mike!" I called to him, that was the first time I ever called him 'Mike' since he came to Tokyo, "just remember this, behind every dark cloud, there's always a silver lining, yours will come soon enough."

"Thanks Matt," he called and walked away.

Once he was out of sight, I groaned loudly to myself, "is there anything I don't know?" I then set off back to my room.

The following next afternoon, we were getting ready to go to the festival. I once again chose not to wear robes, and Kaede was going to wear them. Max didn't feel like wearing robes either and he was surprised to find out that Primula wasn't either.

Today, she was wearing a black sweater, red shirt, and light yellow skirt with red lines.

"I got these a few days ago," she was saying, "what do you think of them Max?"

"I think they look great on you Primula," he smiled.

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course I do," Primula was happy to hear those words coming from Max that she gave him another hug and then she kissed him on the lips. Those two kissed for a couple of minutes before they went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Mostly everyone we knew was going to wear robes, the only ones who were _not_ wearing robes (and wearing normal clothes) were: Lisa, Michael and Kikyou.

Speaking of Michael, he was standing outside his room when I walked past.

"So, are you going to the festival?" I asked.

He looked at me with a serious look on his face, "yes, I am going to the festival - and I'm not going alone. I'm going with Sakura."

"Good for you buddy," I smiled, then I walked off to find Kaede, who was sitting on the couch in the living room.

There were lots of beings attending tonight's little festival, from both the realm of the gods and the realm of the demons, there were even some humans here too, (which also included us).

"Sia wasn't kidding when she said this was like a traditional japanese festival," said Primula out loud.

"Yeah," agreed Max, "it looks so close to the original festivals held many years ago."

After a while, we went our seperate ways, Kaede and I went to check out some of the shops in the area, as for the others, they were just walking around and enjoying the sights.

Which is true when it came to Michael and Sakura...

"Hey Sakura, listen I'm sorry about the way I've been acting."

"There's no need to be sorry Michael," she said kindly, "I understand perfectly of how you feel. I know what it's like to be dumped by the person you think you'll fall in love forever."

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"I know that because...I used to have a boyfriend when my family and I lived in the states. Just one month after we arrived, I started going out with a guy named Jake, he was okay - a little bit of a hothead at times, but he was kindhearted too. We went out for an entire year, that was until he came up to me and said 'I can't see you anymore Sakura, I've met someone else'."

"So in other words, he was cheating on you."

"Yeah, that's it excatly," Sakura sighed as she looked down to the ground with a sad look on her face, "it took me a long time after that to start trusting boys again, but I felt it was best to not date until I felt the time was right..." Sakura then went quiet.

Michael was also quiet, he was remembering what I had said to him last night.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said after a while and breaking her vow of silence, "I know I must be boring you with my stories."

"No, no you're not boring me."

"You mean that?"

"Yeah, of course I mean it."

They kept walking along and enjoying the festival, that was until they reached a very special tree, a cherry blossom tree, otherwise known to many as a 'Sakura' tree.

"Doesn't it look wonderful?" she asked.

"Yeah it does," Michael smiled as he answered Sakura's question.

"Do you want something...crazy? When I was a little girl, I always dreamed about getting married underneath a 'Sakura' tree, lots of kids used to tease me because of my dream, well - except for Rin and Kaede."

"Well I wouldn't laugh at you, I think it's a wonderful dream to have and who knows, maybe you _will_ get married underneath a 'Sakura' tree - or even start a relationship under a 'Sakura' tree."

"What?"

"Oh ah...nothing," Michael quickly corrected himself.

"Michael, is there something you want to tell me?"

"No not really...okay that's not true - Sakura, I know this seems quick after Destiny broke up with me, but I want to say this - I love you."

Sakura gasped when Michael said that.

"You...you love me?"

"Yes, I love you Sakura."

Sakura was just speechless, she looked down to the ground for a few seconds, then she turned away as she didn't want Michael to see her blush, just yet.

"I know it seems so soon, but it's how I feel."

"Matthew told you that I have a crush on you didn't he?"

"Yeah he did, but it wasn't just him who knew - Kaede knew that as well," the two of them were quiet for a few seconds until Michael broke the silence, "I'm sorry if I shocked you."

"No it's okay," Sakura turned around to face Michael, she was blushing bright red and so was Michael. She took in a deep breath and said "I love you too Michael."

Again they stood there in silence, that was until Michael walked up towards Sakura and wrapped his arms around her, then she wrapped her arms around him.

At around this time, Kaede and I were just passing the 'Sakura' tree and we could see Michael and Sakura hugging.

"How cute," Kaede smiled.

"They are perfect together," I agreed, "although I have to say that that was quick, I mean Michael and Destiny broke up two weeks ago and now Michael is starting a new relationship. Still, I am happy for them."

"I think this could be the start of something wonderful."

I had to agree with Kaede on that one as we walked away, leaving Michael and Sakura alone underneath that 'Sakura' tree.

After we returned from the festival, Kaede went off to the bedroom to get changed while I sat out on the front porch and looked up to the stars in the sky.

"It's going to be tough for you to go back huh?" asked a voice.

I looked to my right and there was Daisy.

"You mean going back to Canada? Yeah it is going to be a little hard, but you shouldn't worry yourself over me, I'll be okay."

"Matt, I just want to know - does your mother know about me?"

"No, she doesn't know," I got up till I sitting upright, "it's probably better if she didn't know anything about you, my mother would freak out and probably try to kill me."

"Do you think she would?"

"Yep she probably would. She's already mad at me for moving to Tokyo and being Kaede's boyfriend - and for the record, my father never told her that I got married."

"So - what should we do if we meet up with her?"

"Just walk the other way. Daisy, I don't you worry about me or worry about what will happen if we run into my mother okay? I want you to have fun alright?"

"Okay, I'll try. As long as you promise me that you'll have fun too."

"I promise," I smiled as I held out my little left pinky. Daisy held out her right pinky and wrapped it around mine, then we both said 'pinky swear'.

I then got to my feet and hugged my little sister for a few minutes.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" she asked.

"Yeah I'll be okay," I smiled.

"Okay then, well I better get started in packing up for tomorrow. I love you Matthew, my big brother."

"And I love you too Daisy, my little sister," I smiled.

She then walked off back inside the house. I stayed outside for another few minutes, just thinking to myself, "at first I was one of the unluckiest guys in the world and now look at me," I thought to myself, "I such wonderful friends, a wonderful family and a wonderful wife too - I'm the luckiest guy in the universe."

I sighed happily to myself and went back inside.

The next morning, we were once again packing up the vehciles with our suitcases.

"Okay, the portal's all set for us," said Sia, "once we go through it, we'll remerge in the town of Markville...did I say it right?"

"Yeah you said it right," I sighed.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright Matthew?" Kaede asked sweetly.

"Yeah I'll be fine Kaede," I smiled to her, "I think this will be good for me to return to Canada, it might help me to finally conquer my fears of that place and maybe it won't bring up so many bad memories this time."

"I'm proud of you Matthew, I know you can do it."

"Thanks, but..."

"Don't worry, I'll help you in any way I can."

"Thank you Kaede," and once again I gave her another hug.

We were soon ready to go, Sia locked up the cottage and walked back over to Nerine's car. This time, I was to lead everyone threw the portal and into Canada.

"Alright guys," I called threw the CB radio, "are you ready for the next stage of the trip?"

"We're ready," they all shouted in unison.

"Good, then let's go!"

With the turning of the keys, the engines started up with a roar, then we started off for the portal. We passed by the nearby town and soon reached the portal.

"It's been a year and two months since I last saw Canada and my old home," I thought to myself, "well, here goes nothing..."

And within seconds, we were through the portal and on our way to where it all began for me - where it all went wrong...


	8. Back To Where It All Went Wrong

Well the time has come my friends, it's time to return to where it all began for Matthew. Most of the events that will be mentioned in this and some of the other episodes from Ontario Canada are based on the actual real life events that occured to me as I grew up. Now in this chapter, we get to see the long awaited return of 'Ryan' and 'Patrick' and the introduction of a new character. Now remember, the rating is PG with no swearing. Enjoy!

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 8: Back to Where It All Went Wrong**_

On October 26th 2010, my truck's wheel touched the roads of Markville Ontario Canada for the first time in one year and two months. I thought I would never return to Canada and yet, here we were - on the next stage of our long trip.

"Hey Big Bro, aren't you going to tell us about some of the places you used to go to?" asked Naomi.

"Sorry Little Sis, but right now - I don't feel like talking okay?"

"And why..."

"It's emotional for him to be back," Daisy interupted before Naomi could ask her question, "he probably doesn't want to talk about some of those places because of all the memories."

Well Daisy was right, that's why I wasn't talking, even as we were passing the 'Markville Mall'. Kaede moved over till she was right beside me on my right side.

"It's okay Matthew, if you want to cry it's alright."

"Thanks Kaede, but I'll be okay..." I then turned on the radio to the local country station. The song playing was 'What Hurts the Most' by 'Rascal Flatts', it did bring a tear into my right eye.

About ten minutes, we pulled up outside of a lonely countryside house, there was a sign on the front lawn saying 'For Sale'.

"I guess they sold this house again," I muttered to myself.

It was decided that we should stop here for a short break so that everyone could have a chance to stretch their legs and take some pictures of the area.

"Wow!" Naomi gasped, "what a house, it's huge."

"Maybe on the outside..." I muttered, but never finished.

"I wonder who lived here."

"Well, you know one of the people who used to live here," I said, everyone looked over to me surprised, "yeah guys, this is my old home, this is where I grew up - this is where it all went wrong."

I sighed unhappily and walked over to the house, "Wait up Matthew," Kaede called as she ran to catch up to me, "I'm going in with you."

"Thanks Kaede," I then held out my right hand and she grabbed it with her left hand.

"Obviously when the last owners left the house, they forgot to lock the doors," I said as I opened the door with ease, "I see they didn't change anything around here."

"Is that good?"

"Nope, that just means that this is the same as it always has been," I groaned as we walked into the kitchen, "you have to admit that this kitchen isn't as big as our kitchen back in Tokyo."

"Yeah I have to admit it," she said, "but it does look nice."

"Yeah I guess it was okay in it's way, but of course I was never allowed in here when my parents were around, I could only cook when I was on my own."

After the kitchen, we walked over to the living room, "the dining room is to your left, it's the second largest room in this house - next to the living room."

"It is a big room," said Kaede as she saw the living room.

"Yeah it is, I used to have the computer in this very room," I was looking over to the corner before the stairwell, "that very spot right there is where it was."

Next on the tour, Kaede and I went to look in the basement, only to get a shock.

"Oh no," I groaned, "the darn basement's flooded again."

"Again?"

"Yes, over the years that basement has flooded several times - although never like this," the water I believe would probably go up to my waist if I went down there and believe me, that's a lot of water. "I wonder if that's why the last owners of the house moved out."

"I don't know, and I don't think we ever know."

"You make a good point Kaede."

We then went to the second floor, "down the hallway is the washroom and our guest room, that was actually where my train set was." We walked over to the room, it too was empty, "it looks the same as I left it."

"What was in this room before you moved out?"

"Well - nothing really, my parents took the spare guest bed with them when they left. I only used this room to hold all my boxes and suitcases until I could pack them into the truck. It made sense to put them in here considering that this is the biggest bedroom on the second floor."

We then walked out of the room and down the hallway, "to your left were my parent's bedrooms, and..." I gulped as I looked to my right, "that is my bedroom."

I opened the door and walked in, I ended up banging my head on the ceiling, "you might watch yourself as you come in," I called to Kaede.

She stepped into the bedroom and couldn't believe what she was seeing, I had told her before that my old bedroom was small, (about half the size of our bedroom), but she never thought it would be this small.

"This was your room?" she asked in surprise, "how did you get around in this room?"

"I couldn't, not with the bed in here - and without banging my head in here," I then walked over to the window and looked outside.

"Why didn't you tell your parents that needed more room?"

"Oh I tried several times Kaede, believe me I tried, but they never listened to me," I sighed as I continued to look out the window.

"It's amazing isn't it?" I asked Kaede, "how one day everything is going great, you've worked so hard to get where you were - then by the next day, it's all taken away from you. I worked hard to get where I was, then that stupid law came in and I was fired, then my parents left me here with no way to pay for the house just so they live in a bigger house..." I was starting to shed tears from my eyes, "I had everything going just fine, and then I ended up losing it all - I thank God that you invited me to move in with you Kaede, otherwise - I wouldn't...be the person I..."

I couldn't say anymore, for I had completely broken down into tears and now I was crying after I got down on my knees, (the last time I cried was back in July when Kaede was in the hospital after the knucklehead attack).

Kaede walked over towards me (carefully as to not bump her head), then she got down her knees and wrapped her arms around me.

"I don't know what I would do without you Kaede," I sobbed, "you're my hero..." as I continued to cry, Kaede rubbed my back until I finally cried out all my tears.

"We don't have to stay here any longer if you don't want to," she said kindly, "you don't have to conquer all your fears in one day."

"Thanks Kaede," I sniffed quietly, "you are right. Come on, let's go...oh and Kaede," I said as I got to my feet, "I just want to say 'thank you' again for what you did...I love you."

"And I love you too," she smiled as she got back to her feet.

She then stood up on her toes and we kissed on the lips. Even though we were kissing in that horrible old bedroom of mine, that kiss was still wonderful, which lasted a grand total of three beautiful minutes.

We stood there in complete silence for another minute, I ran my fingers threw her hair and she rubbed the left side of my face with her left hand.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah," I smiled, "let's go."

And with that said, we walked out of the old bedroom, walking carefully out, and headed off back to the vehicles.

"Are you okay Big Bro?" Naomi asked when we finally came out, "you're looking a little pale."

"Yeah I'm alright," I smiled, "I just got a little emotional in there." I looked back over to Kaede with a smile on my face, we were both blushing at that point and she was rubbing my hand gently with her left thumb.

"Hey Matthew," Lisa called, "look what's still on top of the barn."

I looked up and gasped, "Well for crying out loud, it's still up there. That darn old basketball net, I thought the last owners of this house said they were going to tear it down."

"I guess they decided to change their mind. Hey, do you remember when you, me, Jeff, Connor, Patrick, Michael and Ryan were kids, we used to play out here for hours."

"I remember that - that's something else I haven't forgotten. Yeah we used to play for hours, even to when the sun went down for the day."

"But we stopped playing after a while," said Michael as he came over to where we were, "mostly because we got bored with playing the game."

"And the darn basketball always got stuck in the net," said a voice from behind us. We all looked to see Patrick, standing outside of Ryan's car.

"You!" Naomi snarled, "I'll teach you to hurt Kaede!"

Naomi was going to strike, but was stopped by Primula, "Cut it out Little Sis, he's not our enemy anymore."

"That's right," I said, then I looked over to Patrick, "it's good to see you again buddy, but how did you know we were here?"

"We took a wild guess," he said.

"He took a wild guess," said Ryan as he stepped out of the car, "I had a strong feeling you would stop by your old house. Now Matthew, there's someone I would like you to meet..."

Another person stepped out of the vehicle, "hello there," she said kindly, "my name is Emily, it's nice to meet you all."

"It's nice you to meet you too," Kaede said kindly.

Emily was about the same height as Kaede and would you believe that Emily also had orange hair just like Kaede?

"Is she your girlfriend Ryan?" I asked.

"Yes, Emily is my girlfriend," he smiled, Emily looked back over to him with a smile on her face.

Patrick walked over towards us, Naomi looked at him with the same disapproving look from before, "I don't trust you," he whispered quietly as he walked past her.

"You'll have to excuse her, she's one of those people who likes to hold onto a grudge."

"That's alright," said Patrick, "she has every right to be mad at us, Ryan and I made a terrible mistake back in Tokyo and we take full blame for what happened, so - we're sorry."

"Apology accepted," I said while holding out my right hand, Patrick held out his right hand and shook mine.

"I still can't believe that the net is still there," said Patrick as he walked underneath it.

"And would you believe there's a few good basketballs in the old barn?" Lisa called as she came out with some basketballs.

"And here I thought my father destoryed them all," I said while sounding surprised.

"What do you mean by that, Matt?" Daisy asked.

"Well Daisy, our usual basketball games distrubed my father from doing his work, so one night - he took his drill and punched holes in all the basketballs - well, almost all of them. Oh boy did I ever yell at him after that."

"These basketballs still have plenty of air," said Lisa, "Who's up for a game?"

"Oh gosh," I chuckled, "I haven't played that game in ages."

"Does that mean you're scared Matthew?" Ryan called as a joke.

"Not at all, I'm eager for a game of basketball - as long as it's okay with everyone," everyone agreed to the idea, they looked excited, "very well then, let's play. It'll be Lisa, Michael and I aganist Patrick, Ryan and..."

"Is it okay if I play?" Emily asked.

"It's fine with us," said Lisa.

"Do you want to play Kaede?" I asked.

"No thank you Matthew, I'll just watch. Besides, I don't know how to play the game."

Kaede walked over to the truck to watch the game with Naomi, Primula and Daisy. Naomi gave Patrick and Ryan another dirty look, "I hope Big Bro kicks their sorry butts again," she muttered.

It was lucky for her that we didn't hear her comment.

We started playing and oh boy were Patrick, Ryan and Emily good - but of course, Michael, Lisa and I beat them with a score of 10-8.

"Close," I panted after the game, "you guys were close..."

"But not close enough," Lisa giggled while she panted.

"That sure brings back memories of when we used to play all the time," smiled Patrick as he caught his breath.

After the game, we drink some of the drinks from our cooler, then it was time to head out on our way.

"Okay guys listen up," I was saying to everyone, "since I know the way to New Liskard, I'll lead the way, if you get lost, use your CB radio okay?"

"Okay," they all said in unison.

"Very well then, let's get going!"

We were soon passing threw the town of Stouffville, I promised everyone that we could take a tour of the town after our visit to New Liskard.

"Hey Big Bro," Naomi spoke up, "how long will it take to get to New Liskard?"

"About five and a half hours."

"FIVE AND A HALF HOURS?" Naomi exclaimed, "you never said it would take that long."

"You never asked me once Little Sis," I chuckled.

"Still, I'm looking forward to seeing New Liskard for myself," said Daisy, "I bet it's just as amazing as you said Matt. Do you think it'll be as good as you said?"

"I don't know Daisy, it's been a long time since I last visited that town in the last two years."

"Two years?" asked Naomi.

"Yep, the last time I visited New Liskard was back in 2008. I used to visit that town alot when I was a kid, starting from the easter season, then two to three times in the summer and once in the autumn. As the years went by, we didn't make alot of trips to New Liskard and then before I knew it, we stopped going to New Liskard until around 2008."

"Did you drive up to New Liskard the last time?"

"Nope, my dad drove us up to that town. I only got to drive when we went to see my cousin Nicole and when I went to see a movie alone."

"Matthew," Primula spoke up next, "Is Kirkland Lake close to New Liskard?"

"Nope, Kirland Lake is two hours away from New Liskard."

"Two hours?" Naomi exclaimed.

"Yes, two hours away. Which is why we'll be visiting her, Aunt Sally, Frank and Sadie sometime this weekend, okay?" I asked as I looked back to Naomi.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me."

In about sixteen minutes, we came to the little town of Uxbridge. We stopped there to get some refreshements and some snacks for the long trip ahead of us, then we headed out on our way.

Of course as you can imagine, Naomi wouldn't stop asking, "are we there yet?" More than once, Daisy covered Naomi's mouth to prevent her from asking that question again.

"Sorry Naomi," said Daisy, "but you were starting to get on my nerves."

"Thank you Daisy," I smiled as I looked back.

"No problem," she smiled, while Naomi muttered angerily.

In an hour or so, the girls were taking small naps, Kaede especially. She was resting her head on my shoulder while she had her pillow behind her head.

"Is she really asleep?" Daisy asked.

"Yep, she's asleep," I smiled, "what about you Daisy, I thought you were sleeping."

"I was a few minutes," she sighed as she looked out the window.

"You miss Monty don't you?" I asked, Daisy nodded her head, "tell me, does he have his cellphone with him?" Again, Daisy nodded her head. I reached into my right pocket, then I carefully gave it to Daisy (without waking Kaede up), "call him," I whispered to her and then winked.

"Okay, thanks Matt."

"That was real sweet of you," I looked down for a second to see that Kaede _was_ awake.

"I'm sorry Kaede, did I wake you up?"

"No, I was already awake - you are a wonderful big brother to Daisy."

"Do you really think so?" I asked, Kaede nodded her head happily. I then placed my right hand on her right shoulder while I drove with my left hand on the stiring wheel (don't try that unless you are a professional, it's extermly dangerous).

"Hi Monty," Daisy was now talking to Monty on the phone (amazing how our phones can work all the way out here in Canada), "I'm just calling because I miss you...can I see you waving?...Oh yeah, I see you, I can see you waving," Daisy was looking out the back window and she could see Monty waving for a bit before he brought his hand back inside the car, "when we get to our next stop, do you want to sit with me at the table?...You would? Oh that's great...Yeah I love you too Monty...I'll see you soon, bye."

She then hung up, she had some tears in her eyes.

"Are you okay Daisy?" I asked kindly.

"Yeah I'm okay - I'm just happy to hear Monty's voice again," she then gave my cellphone to Kaede, just as the mix CD started playing the song 'The River' by 'Mark Joseph'.

"Don't you worry Daisy, you'll get see him sooner than you think - just another couple of hours and we'll be in North Bay alright?"

"Alright," she then got up from her seat and gave me a kiss on the right side of my face, then she sat back down, "you are the best big brother in the world."

I could only smile when Daisy said that, come to think of it, I was blushing too.

"You are a wonderful big brother to Daisy," Kaede smiled as she rested her head on my shoulder once again.

As we travelled along down the road, Daisy took some pictures with her digital camera, including of a few trains that went by. I had the Mix CDs playing on the CD player again, while Naomi was reading another manga book. Primula was still taking her little nap, while Kaede rested her shoulder on my shoulder, still awake.

"How you are feeling Matthew?"

"I'm feeling a lot better now Kaede. I'm sorry that I got a little emotional back there at the old house."

"There's no need to be sorry, it's normal for a person to cry."

"Yeah you're right - it's just so hard right now for me to step into that house and not cry about all the bad times I had, but who knows, maybe one day soon I can walk in there and not burst into tears everytime."

"Till then, we'll take it one step at a time."

"Yeah," as we rolled onto a straight strecth of road, I leaned down and gave Kaede a quick kiss on the top of her head, then I went back to keeping my eyes on the road (again, don't do that unless you are a professional). Kaede blushed happily, then she gave me a kiss on the right side of my face.

"I love you Kaede."

"And I love you too Matthew."

Daisy then spoke up, "the sign said 'North Bay-136'."

"Good, then we're almost there," I smiled, "we'll stop there for a break, get something to eat and strecth our legs before we continue on to New Liskard, sounds good?"

"It does," said all four girls in unison.

I then told the plan to everyone else threw the CB radio, and they all agreed to the plan.

"Then it's settled, we'll stop in North Bay, but it's still a long ways off..."


	9. The Father's Hometown

Am I ever on a writing spree here, it's just one idea after another. Anyways, this continues where the last episode left off as the characters are still on their way to New Liskard Ontario. Anyways, I don't have much to say at the moment, so all I have to say now is...enjoy!

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 9: The Father's Hometown**_

"Are we there yet?" Naomi asked once again.

"Little Sis, again the answer is no, we're not there yet," she had asked that question five more times in the last hour and a half, "even I didn't ask that question so many times when I went with my parents to New Liskard."

"I'm sorry Big Bro, I'm just eager to see this town for myself."

"I think we all are," said Daisy, then she looked out the window to see the upcoming sign "North Bay-15."

"Thanks Daisy," I said to her.

"Matthew," Primula spoke up, "do you know any good resturants in North Bay?"

"I know a few...why Primula, are you hungry?"

"I am," she answered.

"Well don't worry, I do know a few good resturants in North Bay, just wait a few more minutes and we'll be there soon."

It wasn't long of course before we finally arrived in the town of North Bay, "it hasn't changed a bit," I said out loud, "it looks just the same as it did before."

I wasn't kidding as a lot of places I saw when I was younger were still around to this day. One of which was a huge mall, (not as big as the megamall), but still very big, then came the Ontario Northland railway station, then we passed by the second mall in North Bay, it wasn't as big as the other one, but it's still just as big.

"There are alot of resturants here Big Bro," Naomi spoke up, "couldn't we stop there?"

"Maybe on our return trip Little Sis, but for today - I'm taking you all to a resturant I used to eat at when I used to travel to New Liskard."

"Couldn't you just tell us where we're going?"

"Sorry, but it's a surprise for now," at this point we were just climbing a hill, "Take a look to the right and you'll see the waterfall."

All four girls looked and sure enough, they could see the waterfall. Daisy took a couple of pictures just as we were passing it.

"Hey Matthew!" that was Nerine's voice calling on the CB radio, "aren't we going to stop here for a little lunch break?"

"Oh we are," I answered back as I picked up the mic., "the resturant is just coming up." I could see it just down the road after we got to the top of the hill. After thirty more seconds of driving, I finally turned into a parking lot for a little resturant, the other vehicles pulled in and parked to the right side of my truck.

"And before you ask again Little Sis, we're here."

She shot me a dirty look. Oh boy were my legs stiff when I stepped out of the truck, everyone was feeling stiff when they stepped out, "how long were we on the road?" Naomi asked as she stepped out.

"Three hours and fifteen minutes," Primula answered as she looked at her watch.

Daisy stepped out just then, she looked to her left side and saw a familar face coming over, "MONTY!" she cried and jumped down the truck. She then ran up to him and gave him a hug, "I'm so happy to see you."

"Well I'm happy to see you too Daisy," he smiled and gave her a kiss on the right side of her face.

"How cute," Emily smiled, "don't you think so Ryan?"

"Yep, it's definetly cute," he answered.

Sia took a look around, "there are a lot of trucks around here...isn't this a truck stop?"

"It is," I answered, "but anyone is welcome to eat here," I then looked back over to Kaede, she smiled happily as she held out her right hand. I grabbed it softly with my left hand, then we walked over to the resturant, and so did everyone else.

I knew what I wanted to get this time, a cheeseburger and french fries, but Kaede, Primula, Naomi and Max (who was sitting at our table, Daisy was sitting with Monty at another table) didn't know what to get.

"Why don't you guys try the cheeseburgers?" I suggested, "trust me, they're always good."

"That's what you usually order when you come here Matthew," said another voice. That voice was coming from our waitress, I knew this one.

"Too true Fern," I chuckled, "I'm glad to see that you're still working here."

"Do you know her Matthew?" Primula asked in pure english.

"I sure do," I smiled, "this is Fern, I met her when I was younger. She was working in this resturant part time - I believe the first time I met you was when I was thirteen, am I right?"

"That's correct Matthew," she smiled, "of course now I'm working here full time, I love working here. So...are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Sure," I smiled, "the girl sitting next to me is my wife, Kaede. Primula is the girl closest to you, her boyfriend Max is sitting to her right side and the little red haired girl is Naomi, she's Kaede's sister."

"It's nice to meet you," Kaede said polietly.

"And it's nice to meet you," Fern smiled, then she looked back over to me, "you got married?"

"That's right, I got married a month ago."

"How sweet," then Fern had to ask, "so where have you been all this time huh? Last I heard from your father, you moved out of your old house."

"More like I moved out of Canada, I moved to Tokyo Japan," and so I told Fern about my trip to Tokyo and my life there (I kept the story as short as I could).

"Oh you poor soul," Fern said after I was done, "it's hard to believe that all that happened."

"Well it did," I said quietly.

Naomi was giggling, "how many times have you heard someone say 'you poor soul' Big Bro?" she did speak in english at that moment.

"By my count," Primula cut in, "roughly one hundred and ninteen times."

Fern looked surprised as she looked over to Primula, then she looked back over to me, "it's no surprise to me anymore," I muttered quietly, then I spoke up, "anyways Fern, I will have my usual and so will my friends, and my wife too."

"Very well then," she smiled, then she had to ask, "how long are you going to be staying in New Liskard?"

"Two weeks there, then we travel off to Toronto and some of the other cities for a week, then we head off to America. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just being curious," she smiled, "I'll be back out with your orders in a short while."

Then she walked away to get more orders.

"And you said nobody knew you here in Canada," said Naomi as she looked over to me. I looked over to see her with a serious look on her face, "you're not only famous in Tokyo, but it looks like you're..."

"I'm not famous here Naomi," that was the first time in a while I called her by her actual name, "I only know a few people, that's it. To a lot of people, I'm just another face in the crowd - I was always an outcast around here, so apart from the few people that do know me, it's not like someone is going to come up to me and ask for my autograph."

After ten minutes, our burgers and fries came out, Naomi looked at them in a stange way.

"You look like you've never had a cheeseburger before," I said.

"That's because I've never had a cheeseburger before," she said while looking at it, "how am I suppose to eat this thing? Where are the chop sticks?"

"Little Sis, you pick it up with your hands and take a bite of it," to prove it, that's just what I did.

"I guess there's a lot we have to teach you still," Primula said quietly.

Naomi blushed a small shade of red at that moment as she picked up her cheesburger and took a bite out of it, "oh and for the record Little Sis," I spoke up next, "you use a fork for the french fries, not chop sticks."

Again, she blushed a small shade of red.

"Well that was good," Max said after we were all done, "you weren't kidding when you said the food here was good."

"Yeah it's pretty good," then I whispered to Kaede, "I still love your cooking better." Just hearing that made Kaede blush a small shade of red, but unlike Naomi, it wasn't because she was embarrassed, it was because she was happy.

"Are you two going to kiss again?" Naomi asked cheekily.

"Little Sis," Primula spoke in a serious way and looked at her with a serious look on her face too. Naomi went quiet within seconds.

"Would you like some dessert?" Fern asked as she came over to get our dishes.

"Nope, we're good," I answered.

"Okay then," she smiled and walked away with our dishes.

"Okay, if you guys want to get some snacks and drinks for later, now is your chance cause we're not making anymore stops until we get to New Liskard."

So once our table had been cleared, Max, Primula and Naomi walked over to where the potato chips and drinks were. I got a couple of drinks for Kaede and myself.

"Coca-cola?" she asked.

"Yeah, I used to get this drink all the time whenever we went on a long trip like this. Actually in my pre-teen years, I used to get Vinalla coke, but for some reason they're no longer on sale. This is okay if we get these isn't it?" I asked.

"Of course it is," she smiled.

Naomi picked out a big bag of 'Ruffles-All Dressed' chips while Primula and Max got small bags of 'Smartfood Popcorn'.

"Will that be everything?" Fern asked.

"Yep, that'll be everything," I smiled. I then payed for our snacks and the meals we had.

"I hope you have a good trip Matthew - and I hope I'll get to see you and your friends again someday."

"I'm sure you will Fern," I smiled, "well, we better get going...goodbye Fern."

"Goodbye Matthew."

After the friendly goodbye, Naomi, Primula, Max, Kaede and I walked out of the resturant. Kaede held out her right hand and I grabbed it softly with my left hand.

After a few minutes, we were ready to go - or so we thought, Daisy and Naomi were fighting each other (arguing).

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on here you two?"

"Daisy wants Monty to ride with us and I have to keep telling her that is no room for him in the truck, she won't listen to me - so will you please tell her 'no'."

"Actually, if you sit up in the front seat with us, then Monty can sit in the back seat with Daisy. If it's okay with you Kaede."

"It's alright with me, what do you say Naomi?"

"Well...okay," she sighed, "I guess it would be okay if Monty rides with us...assuming he wants to ride with us."

Daisy ran over to ask him and in a few seconds, she came over with Monty and a couple of his suitcases, "I would love to ride along with you guys," he said happily.

So while everyone was getting into the truck, I placed Monty's suitcases into the back of the truck. Then once I had tied down his suitcases along with ours, I got back into the truck and started up the engine, then (with the other vehicles driving along behind the truck) we continued on our way.

"Hey Matthew," Monty spoke a minute later, "I hope you don't mind if I ask this, but...were you born in New Liskard?"

"No not me, I was born in Markville, my dad was born in New Liskard, it's his hometown."

"I didn't know that New Liskard was your dad's hometown," said Naomi, "did you know that, Kaede?"

"Of course I knew, Matthew told me that when we used to talk on the chatroom, he told me that his father grew up in New Liskard throughout his entire childhood and most of his teenage years."

"That's right Kaede, and most recently I've told you that while he's not the only Gagnon to move away from New Liskard, he's the only one to move back to his hometown."

"Matthew," Primula spoke up next, "does your father know we're coming?"

"No he doesn't and that's the way it's going to stay."

"Why?"

"Well, as much as I would like to tell him that we're visiting for a while, I don't want my mother finding out about us - she's not too happy with me right now."

"She thinks Matthew made a mistake moving to Tokyo and chosing me to be his girlfriend."

"You mean wife," Naomi interupted.

"As far as my mom knows, Kaede and I are still a couple, she doesn't know that we are married."

"So what are you going to do if she sees you and Kaede together? Will you tell her then?"

I didn't answer Naomi for a while, until about thirty seconds later, "Yes Little Sis, I'll tell her - I can only imagine what she is going to say the moment she sees us."

"Or when she finds out that you have a sister," Daisy piped up.

I looked back over to Daisy for a few seconds, "remember what I told you back in the realm of the gods, just walk the other way if you see her."

"Right Matt," she said, "I'll remember that. Still I have to ask, when are you going to forgive her?"

I only sighed unhappily before I finally answered her question, "I don't know when I'm going to forgive her, I really don't know."

Once again, we went silent while my mix CD continued to play, it started playing the song 'Already Over' by 'Red'.

"I know how you feel Big Bro," Naomi spoke up after a few minutes, "there's always that one _or_ two parents in my case you might never forgive for what they have done. I'll never forgive mine, they were horrible before and I know they're still horrible now."

"But he is going to forgive her," said Daisy, "just not now."

"Still I have to ask, if your parents live in New Liskard, why are we going there?"

"It's like I told you before, we're going to New Liskard because I haven't there for years and I would like to see the old town again, plus it'll give you guys a chance to see it for yourselves. It's like I was telling Daisy back in the realm of the gods that I'm not going to let my parents ruin this trip for us, I just want you guys to have fun."

"And we will," Daisy said with a happy tone in her voice. I looked back for a split second to see Daisy resting her head on Monty's right shoulder. He then placed his right hand on her right shoulder and held her close to him.

I smiled as I looked over to those two, then I went back to focusing on the road ahead (just a reminder, don't take your eyes off the road while driving, that could lead you into trouble).

After another hour and forty five minutes, we were nearly there.

"Highway book store?" Naomi said as she looked at a sign by the side of the road, "have you ever gone there Big Bro?"

"Yep, I've gone there before, my parents would stop there everytime we came up to New Liskard. Some of the books I got back in Tokyo actually came from that very bookstore."

"Does it sell manga books?"

"Not that I'm aware of, I don't think it sells manga books. Why do you ask Naomi? Would you like to stop there?"

"No, I was just curious that's all."

It wasn't long before we finally passed the book store, it may look small on the outside, but let me tell you this - it's big on the inside, this bookstore mostly sells old books that have been 'disposed' of from previous owners.

After another fifteen minutes came a sight we had all been hoping to see - the town of New Liskard. We soon rolled down the hill, over the railroad crossing and then down the street till we reached the 'Quality Inn' Motel.

"We're here," I smiled, "it looks just the same as before."

Once we were parked at the front enterance, I went inside to get the keys for the rooms. As soon as I walked inside, I took a good look around, it's just like I had said, nothing had changed - the motel's main enterance way was the same as it always had been.

"May I help you sir?" asked a woman behind the counter.

"That's no ordinary person," said the motel manager, "that's Matthew Gagnon, he's the one and only son of Ron and Lorraine Gagnon."

"It's good to know that so many people still know me," I chuckled quietly as I walked up to the counter.

After three minutes, we were driving around to the back of the motel where our rooms were.

"Finally!" groaned Naomi as she got out, "ouch! My foot is asleep, ouch!"

All the other vehicles parked to the right side of my truck, then once everyone had gotten out (and strecthed after the long road trip), they waked over to where I was standing.

"Matt," Daisy piped up, "can I be in the same room with Monty?"

"Are you kidding?" Naomi cried out loud, "he's not going to let you stay in..."

"Of course you will Daisy," I smiled, then I looked over to Naomi with a serious look on my face. She went silent right away, she was still feeling sore from the long trip.

"Okay guys listen up, Kaede and I will get the first room right where my truck is parked, Daisy, Monty, Primula and Max, you guys get the second room."

I handed them their keys, "Thanks Matthew," said Max kindly.

"Then there's Michael and Sakura, I'm giving you two the third room, of course you'll have to share your room with Itsuki and Mayumi."

"We don't mind," Sakura and Michael said in unison.

"Neither do we," added Mayumi and Itsuki in unison.

"Next up, Sia, Dave, Nerine and Daryl, you guys get the fourth room. Asa and Rin, you two will get the fifth room, you will be sharing it with Ryan and Emily. Room six goes to Yukie, Shiori and Naomi, as for room seven it goes to...Patrick and Kikyou."

"Terrific," Kikyou muttered quietly. Patrick looked nervous as he looked over to the second princess of the realm of the gods, I bet now he was wishing that he hadn't attacked Kaede that night.

Once everyone had gotten their keys, they headed off to their rooms. Kaede and I walked over to our room, I used the key to get in (it's just a card now, not like when I was younger when it was a normal key to get into the room).

"Here we are, what do you think Kaede?"

"It's wonderful," she smiled, but her smile didn't last for long, "there are two beds in here."

"Yeah, all the motel rooms come with two beds."

Kaede looked over to me with the same worried look from before, "does this mean we're not going to be sleeping together anymore?" some tears appeared in her eyes.

"Of course we'll sleep together," I said as I walked over towards her and gave her a hug to help calm her down. She did calm down and hugged me right back, "I know you can't sleep without me by your side..."

"And I know you can't sleep without me by your side," Kaede said while looking up to me.

We were quiet for a couple of minutes, just hugging happily.

"So there's no need to worry okay, we will be sleeping together - I just want to ask you, which bed would you like to sleep in?"

"I would like to sleep in the bed next to the kitchen," she smiled as she pointed to it, "will that be okay?"

"Of course it'll be okay," I smiled, "we can always use the other bed for our suitcases."

So while Kaede gave herself a small tour of the room we were to be staying in, I went out to the truck to get our suitcases. After a few mintues, I had them all inside the room.

After the suitcases had been brought in, I sat down at the foot of our bed. Kaede came over a second later and sat down to my right side.

"Are you happy Matthew?" Kaede asked me sweetly.

"Kaede - whenever I'm with you, I'm always happy."

Kaede blushed at that moment and so did I. We then closed our eyes, our lips came closer and closer to each other and then - we kissed on the lips for two minutes. After the kissing, we got up, grabbed the keys for the room, then we set out to check out the entire motel.


	10. They Know

In this episode, Matthew and Kaede will get to meet up with two figures of Matthew's life as they make their return in this episode, see if you can guess which ones I'm talking about. Now truth be told, it's been over a year since I last saw New Liskard so I don't know if anything has changed there, I'm just going with what I remember seeing the last time I was there. Anyways, the rating as always is PG with no swearing at all, also note that this episode is dedicated to all my friends both online and in real life. And now on this happy note, I am proud to present episode 10 of...

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 10: They Know**_

It was like reliving a moment from my childhood just walking through that motel, I used to walk around the motel all the time when I was a kid, either to get away from my parents or maybe because I was bored. This time however, I was walking along with my beautiful wife Kaede by my right side. She held onto my right hand softly with her left hand.

We were by now walking into the main lobby, Kaede took a look to the left and noticed the giant swimming pool.

"It's nice isn't it?" I asked as she looked, "don't you worry Kaede, we'll get our chance to swim in it while we're here."

She looked over to me with a happy look on her face, I think she was happy to hear that. Our little tour continued at the motel's arcade, "nothing's changed in here either," I smiled.

"There are a lot of games in here," said Kaede as she looked around, "there's even an ice machine in here."

"Okay that's different, it used to be further down the hallway from our room."

I then walked over to one of the video games in this arcade, "these look quite old."

"That's because they are. These were around when I was a kid, I'm actually quite surprised to see these old arcade games here and to still be working too, that is quite a surprise."

Kaede was looking at the screens of one of these games, "it says the top score belongs to...Matthew Gagnon."

"No way," I gasped. I walked over and looked, sure enough - there was my name at the top of the list of top scores, "I guess nobody's been able to beat my record."

After looking around the arcade, we walked out and looked over to the resturant there, it was closed for now.

"So Kaede, what do you think of this motel so far?"

"It's amazing Matthew, I can see why you and your parents used to come here."

"About ten times a year I might add," called the manager of the motel, he was still standing behind the counter, "the Gagnon family used to come here all the time up to seven years ago, for some reason..."

"We stopped making so many trips a year," I interupted, "and soon we rarily made any visits here. Don't blame me on that part, it was my parents."

"I'm well aware of that," said the manager, then he looked over to Kaede, "and who's that lovely lady with you?"

"Well, this is my beautiful wife Kaede."

"Hello," Kaede said kindly, "it's nice to meet you."

And as you can guess, I told the motel manager my story (with shorter details again) and as usual I heard "you poor soul." not only from the manager, but a few employees in the nearby office.

"So Mr. Gagnon, do your parents know you are here."

"Nope, they have no idea that I am here," I answered, "And please don't call them and tell them," I said before he could pick up the phone. After talking with the motel manager for a while, Kaede and I headed off back to our motel room, once again we were holding hands just like before.

Kaede and I stayed in the motel room for fifteen minutes, either just watching television (cable TV) or relaxing with our eyes closed. Kaede was the one watching the television while I had my eyes closed. She looked down to me, she blushed a small shade of red - then she leaned down to kiss me on the lips.

I had of course opened my eyes just before she did, but I allowed her to kiss me anyways. We kissed for a minute, then that's when Kaede started rubbing her fingers through my brown hair.

"I love you Matthew," she whispered softly.

I opened my eyes slowly and looked up to see her beautiful face looking down at me, "And I love you too Kaede."

Kaede continued to smile at me, then she leaned back and layed down next to me. She was to the left of me, quite like on that night we first kissed, anyways she reached out her right hand and I grabbed it softly with my left hand.

After fifteen minutes, I said, "Kaede, would you like to see the mall?"

"I love to," she smiled.

We both got up and off the bed at the same time, then we walked over to the door where our shoes were. Kaede's shoes were brown (the same shade of brown as my hair), her shoes didn't come with laces, unlike mine. As you can guess, my shoes are the same old worn out running shoes I brought with me when I moved to Tokyo, they may be over five years old, but they still fit and are still in good shape...sort of.

Anyways, once we had our shoes on and we made sure that we had our keys, we headed out to the truck.

"Ah Kaede, just to let you know - this mall isn't as big as the smaller mall we got back in Tokyo."

"It's okay Matthew," she smiled, "I don't mind, as long as we get to spend some time together."

I just smiled when she said that.

It took only two and a half minutes to get to the mall, it's not that far from the motel.

"Does it look the same as before?" Kaede asked.

"Yep, doesn't look anything has changed - but of course we won't know that until we get inside."

After getting out and locking up, we walked over to the mall, we then entered it threw the middle enterance way. Once we were inside the mall, I took a good look around, "doesn't look like too much has changed," I said, "except that a few stores have closed."

Kaede held out her right hand and I grabbed it softly with my left hand, then we started walking towards the right side of the mall. As we walked around, we could see that alot of stores were closed.

"Bummer," I muttered, "looks like that small entertainment store has closed up."

"Maybe it has a lot to do with the Wal Mart store I saw before we got here."

"Possibly," I said.

We continued walking along, we could see a huge dollar store known as 'Dollarama', "I guess they had to close a few other stores just for this store to open up in the mall. It must've just moved in."

Kaede and I then walked on past some little kiddy rides, we could see some kids using them. We then walked into a 'Zellers' store, boy was I in for a shock.

"Oh I don't believe it, they've changed so much in this store."

We walked around for a while until we found the entertainment section of the store, "was this entertainment section always here Matthew?"

"Nope, it was at another part of the store - and it was much bigger than this."

"Didn't you tell me that you used to come to this store alot when you and your parents came up to New Liskard and that you would always come here to do most of your shopping."

"Yep, we used to come here all the time to do some shopping."

Kaede and I continued to walk around the 'Zellers' store, it had changed more than a little bit since the last time I saw it, "Matthew, I hope you don't mind if I ask you alot of questions, I'm just being curious."

"That's okay Kaede," I smiled, "I don't mind if you ask me alot of questions."

"You don't?"

"That's right, I think it's sweet that you're so curious about what I used to do when I was younger."

Kaede continued to smile, she then rubbed my hand softly with her thumb.

After our little trip throughout the 'Zellers' store, we continued to walk around the mall. I got another surprise as we returned to the middle enterance way, "I don't believe it," I gasped, "they reopened that resturant up again, and here I thought it was gone for good."

"Isn't that the resturant you used to get...ah, what was it again?"

"Slushee, that's where I used to get them everytime," I looked back inside the resturant and noticed the slushee machine running, "I guess some things just don't change."

We then walked inside the resturant, Kaede took a good look around while I got us a couple of slushees.

"I got us cheery flavors, I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind," Kaede smiled.

We then walked out of the resturant and sat down on the bench outside of the entertainment/computer store. I took the first sip of mine and a few seconds later I started groaning.

"What's wrong Matthew?"

"Brain freeze," I groaned, "I forgot how cold these things are - and I forgot to drink it slowly. Darn it!"

We had to wait a few mintues before the _brain freeze_ went away.

"Are you okay Matthew?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered and showed her a smile on my face, she smiled right back to me, then we went back to drinking our slushees. In about five minutes, we continued on with our little tour of the mall.

We passed by the grogery store, then a girl's clothing store, a second entertainment store, a pet store and then we came up to another resturant, this one was much bigger than the other one.

"It's good to see they didn't close up," I smiled.

"Is this a good resturant?"

"Yep, this is a good resturant, my family and I used to eat here about...four to five times a week - hey, why don't we eat here tomorrow, would you like that?"

"Yes, I would love that."

After the tour of the mall, we got back into the truck and went off to the town of New Liskard itself. I parked the truck at a parking lot outside of the 'Giant Tiger' store, then we walked off to take a look at the many businesses in this town.

"I like the movie theatre," said Kaede as she pointed over to it.

"Yeah I like it too, that movie theatre's actually been there for...ah, well - it was around when my dad was a kid. From what I do know, it used to have only one movie screen, but nowadays it has two screens."

"I wish I brought my camera with me," Kaede groaned sadly, "but I left it back at the motel room."

"Don't worry Kaede, I'm sure you'll get plenty of pictures during our two week stay here." As I was saying this, I grabbed onto Kaede's left hand and held it softly with my right hand.

We then continued on our little tour of New Liskard, not once did we let go of each other's hands. As we walked along, we passed a small convince store called 'Macs', then we passed the old hobby store that sold cards, model cars, model planes and yes - they sold model trains, then we passed a movie rental store. We soon reached the town's biggest grogery store when we noticed the train crossing gates going off.

"Odd, most Ontario Northland trains don't pass by during the day," I said out loud.

"Maybe they changed their schedule," said Kaede.

"Yeah maybe they did," I said quietly, "it has been a long time since I've been here, so they might have changed their schedule."

We waited nearby outside the grogery store and keeping an eye on the railway crossing. We heard diesel horns not too far away and getting closer and within seconds, an Ontario Northland freight train came into view and rumbled over the level crossing.

"I'm not sure if I told you this, Kaede, but when I was in my early teen years, I used to spend a lot of time at one of my dad's cousin's houses and waiting for a freight or passenger train to pass by."

"I remember when you told me that, you would be waiting for hours and yet there was no train."

"That's true - when I was younger, they used to pass by in the evening."

Kaede and I looked back to the tracks to see the tail end of the train pass the crossing. After the train had passed, we continued on with our tour of New Liskard. It was close to around five thirty when we finally returned back to the truck. Just as we got back in, I heard Kaede's stomach growl.

"Are you hungry Kaede?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Well don't worry, I know a good little resturant we can eat at."

We drove out of the town and back the way we came, but instead of going back to the motel, I turned into the parking lot of a truck stop called 'Gillies'.

"This is a good resturant, I used to eat here all the time in my early teenage years - come to think of it, I used to come every other night the last time I was here."

"I remember you were telling me that," Kaede smiled, but then frowned, "you told me that just before..."

"Rin's big decision," I interupted as kindly as I could. Kaede moved over till she was literally sitting next to me. I placed my right hand on her right shoulder, then I rubbed it nice and gently.

At this time, Kaede doesn't cry when she thinks about Rin's decision, but she is still upset over what she did.

"I'm okay Matthew," she said as she looked up to me and showing her trademark smile to me. She then gave me a quick kiss on the right side of my face, "I'm ready to go in...with you."

"Okay," I smiled. Before we got out, I gave her a kiss on her forehead.

After we got out of the truck and locked the doors, we walked over to the resturant's enterance way. I thought for sure that tonight was going to be a wonderful night with my wife - boy was I in for the biggest shock yet.

We waited by the enterance for our waitress to get us a table, as we waited I heard..."Matthew?" a male voice called.

Right away I knew who's voice that was...it was my father! I turned around and looked and sure enough, there he was but he wasn't alone cause the person standing next to him was none other than...my mother, Lorraine Gagnon.

"Matthew Gagnon," my mother said with a sharp tone in her voice, "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Right back at ya," I said sarcastically, I wasn't happy to see her.

"And is this is your girlfriend?" my mother asked angerily, she looked down to Kaede's left hand and noticed the diamond ring that she had on, "you're married to her?"

I was about to answer when our waitress returned, "follow me sir and ma'am."

And so we followed our waitress to our table, I looked back to see my mother giving that angry look again. Once we got to our table, I sighed in relief, "oh boy, she's still mad," I groaned, "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Kaede."

"That's okay," she said kindly.

A few minutes later, our waitress came back with my parents, they were going to sit at a table not too far from where we were sitting.

"Okay Kaede," I whispered to her, "just ignore what my mother says okay?"

"Okay," she whispered back.

My father walked over towards the table, "it's good to see you again my son, and you too Kaede. So...when did you get married?"

"A month ago," I answered quietly, "the only reason I never phoned to tell you that Kaede and I got married was because of _her_, if she knew..."

"Yes I'm well aware of that..."

"Is that your wife?" my mother asked as she came over to the table, she was still looking angry.

I sighed at that moment, I couldn't hide the truth anymore.

"Yes Lorraine," I said in a not so kind way, "this is my wife. Her name is Kaede, she's the one who invited to move in with her after I lost my job, you two disowned me and left me with a house I couldn't pay for."

"First of all, you are to call 'mom' like you always have..."

"It's my choice if I want to or not," I muttered quietly.

"Second of all, you could've told us that you lost your job before we left. Then maybe you wouldn't have..."

"How in the world was I suppose to tell you? You two took off on me before I could say anything. And I know what you are going to say about Kaede, I know you're going to say that I made a huge mistake falling in love with her and marrying her, but you are wrong. I love Kaede with all my heart and soul, I've loved her from the moment I met her..."

"And I loved him from the moment I met him," Kaede spoke up next and went quiet.

I stared at my mother with a serious look, "you might not be happy with my choice to move to Tokyo and falling in love with Kaede, but you want to know something - I really don't care what you think. So unless you have something nice to say, then don't bother opening your mouth again."

My mother was silent for a long period of time, she couldn't believe I just said that.

"So...is it just the two of you here in New Liskard?" my father asked.

"No, we're travelling with our friends and family, we'll be here for two weeks, then we'll be heading off to Toronto."

"Ron," my mother spoke after a while, "let's go back to our table, we're done talking."

"See you around my son," and with that said, my parents walked back to their table.

I sighed at that moment, "oh boy that was intense," I said quietly, "I am really sorry you had to hear all that, Kaede."

"It's okay Matthew," she said while smiling, "thank you for sticking up for me."

"Ah it's my pleasure," Kaede held out her left hand and I grabbed it softly with my right hand.

Our waitress came back a few minutes later with a couple of glasses of water, then she asked us for our orders. Both Kaede and I ordered the pizza fingers and the cheese fingers too.

In about twenty minutes, our waitress came back with our meals. Kaede took the first bite of the pizza fingers, she gasped in a few seconds.

"Here Kaede," I said as I gave her my glass of water to drink.

She drank a lot of water for less than twenty seconds, "that was hot," she gasped, "maybe we should wait until they cool down."

"I think that's a good idea," I said.

"Matthew!" my mother came over to the table again, "is it true? Did you really adopte a girl to your sister?"

"I guess he did tell her," I thought to myself, then I spoke to her in a serious way, "yes I did, her name is Daisy. I adopted her after her rotten sister was arrested - as I'm sure dad has told you."

She shook her head, then she walked off back to her table.

"Well I guess that answers my question," I said as I looked back over to Kaede, "looks like my father did tell her about Daisy," I sighed at that moment, "to be honest here Kaede, I was hoping to not run into my parents."

"Why's that, Matthew?"

"Well it's mostly because I don't want her to upset you, Daisy or anyone of our family and friends, and if my father knew, he would tell her and...well, it would be the same as her reaction as before."

I went quiet and looked down to my plate of food, I was silent for a while - then I felt Kaede's hand touch my hand.

"Oh Matthew," she smiled, "you're always thinking about us and our feelings, you are an amazing person - it makes me so proud to be your wife." I looked back up to Kaede and showed her my smile.

"Do you really mean it Kaede?"

"Of course I do. I love you Matthew."

"And I love you too Kaede," I then looked down to our plates, "we should probably eat before our food gets cold."

"That sounds a good idea," she giggled.

"Then once we get back to the motel, would you like to go into the pool for a swim?"

"I would love to," she smiled with a happy tone in her voice. And on that happy note, Kaede and I went back to eating our meals. I asked her if she liked it, "it was very good, thank you for bringing me here."

"You're welcome Kaede."

After our waitress took our plates away, we went up to the cashier to pay for our meals. We walked past my parents, my mother gave me that same look as before, but my father showed a smile, "see you later Matthew," he said to me.

"See you later...pops," I chuckled. He was chuckling too, and Kaede was giggling very quietly.

Once I payed the bill for our meal, Kaede and I walked back over to the truck and drove off back to the motel...


	11. Life is Sweet!

Okay my friends, I am proud to present the next episode of 'Our Kinda Trip'. This episode will start off in the evening of the same day as the last few chapters 'October 26th 2010', then it moves on to the next day and yes this time the other characters will be seen and mentioned in this episode. Also note that the events that occur after 'Matthew' and 'Kaede' go to sleep are indeed based on a real life event that occured in one of the hotels close to where I was staying at in August 2010 when I was on vacation. Rating is PG once again with no swearing at all, enjoy!

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 11: Life Is Sweet!**_

We were soon back at the motel room, I had already changed into my swim trunks a few minutes ago and now I was waiting for Kaede. She was in the washroom and getting into her bikini bathing suit at this time.

I was still thinking about my parents at this time, "I still can't believe we ran into them," I called out to Kaede, "I should've known that 'Gillies' is one of their favourite resturants, I'm sorry Kaede."

"There's no need to be sorry Matthew," she called from the washroom, "I still had a great time with you."

"Really?"

"Yes," she answered, "I always have a good time with you Matthew."

She was now coming out of the washroom, she was wearing her white binki bathing suit with orange dots on it. She walked over to her suitcase and pulled out her light green shirt with pockets. Once she had it on, she grabbed our keys and put them in her pocket, then she walked towards me and grabbed my right hand with her left hand.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," I smiled.

Once we had gotten our towels, we walked out of our room and down the hallway towards the pool, but it seemed like we weren't the only ones who wanted to swim in that pool tonight. No sooner had we left our room then we saw Daisy and Monty walking out of their room.

"Hey Matt, hi Kaede!" Daisy called, "are you guys going to the pool too?"

"We sure are," I answered, then I looked down the hallway and noticed Dave and Sia walking out of their room.

They walked over towards us while they were holding hands, "I guess great minds do think alot," smiled Sia.

"What about Rina and Daryl, or the rest of our friends?" Kaede asked, "Aren't they going to go in for a swim?"

"I think they already went in for a swim sometime after we arrived," said Dave, "As for my brother and Nerine, I think they're out exploring the town for a bit."

"Matthew and I were exploring the town a short while, we got back in about five minutes ago."

"Did you two have a good time?" Daisy asked sweetily.

"We did," I sighed unhappily.

"Is something wrong Matt?"

"We ran into my parents at the 'Gillies' truck stop resturant, and just as I had feared - my mother's still as mad as ever - and yes Daisy, she knows about you too, my father told her."

Now Daisy was looking worried, "she knows about me?"

"Yes she does, but you don't need to worry about her, just remember what I said - if you see her, walk the other way, okay?"

"Okay."

"Your brother is right Daisy," Monty said kindly, "there's no need for you to worry, besides - I won't anyone hurt you, I promise," just hearing Monty say that made Daisy happy.

The rest of our friends and family were indeed exploring around the town of New Liskard, so it was just the six of us going over to the pool. I lead the way down the hallway until we reached the changing room areas, that's where we had to split up.

Kaede, Daisy and Sia were the first ones to get to the pool, "I can't wait to go swimming," smiled Daisy, she was looking around for Monty, "now where is my prince?"

"Why not look behind you?" Sia chuckled.

Daisy turned around and saw us coming up to the pool, she ran up to him and gave him a hug and then a kiss on the lips.

Following behind Monty was myself of course and then Dave followed right after me. Kaede was walking over to one of the nearby tables, that's where she was going to leave her green shirt and sandals, but no sooner had she walked over to the table, then...

"Hey beautiful," said another man, "you're very pretty, care to swim with me?"

"No thank you," Kaede answered, sounding uneasy.

"Oh come on...you can hold my hand if you want to."

"No thank you," Kaede repeated herself.

"Oh come on..."

"She said no thank you," I said as I stepped forward and stood in front of my wife.

"And who would you be?" the man asked with an angry look on his face.

"I happen to be her hushand for your information - now, I suggest that you leave her alone if you know what is good for you, cause if I see you talking to her like that again, then you'll be sorry," I stared at the man with a real serious look on my face.

"Fine," the man sniffed and walked away.

I looked back over to Kaede, looking a little calmer now, "Are you okay Kaede?"

"I am," she smiled as she grabbed both of my hands, "thank you for standing up for me again."

"You're welcome," we were blushing at that point and continued to hold hands. We then walked over to the pool, the water was cold at first, but once we got used to it, we started swimming, side by side once again.

A short distance away from the motel was a resturant that used to be called 'Burgers & More', but it has a new name now - I don't know what it is yet. At this time, our friends Michael and Sakura were stepping out of the resturant. They walked over to the fence and looked to see the town of New Liskard in the distance.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Sakura asked, Michael didn't say anything, "Michael, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay," he answered.

"You're still thinking about Destiny aren't you?"

"Only a little bit," he looked at the wonderful view Sakura had been looking at.

Sakura sighed quietly as she looked back at the view, that was until she felt someone tap her left shoulder. She looked to her left, only to get a huge surprise - Michael was kissing her, not on the cheeks or forehead, he was kissing her on the lips. Sakura was surprised at first, but she did except the kiss.

Their kiss lasted for a couple of minutes.

"Michael..." Sakura said quietly after the kiss.

"I'm sorry, was it too soon?"

"No, no it wasn't too soon," Sakura was blushing a small shade of red and so was Michael. They were silent for a minute and a half, that was until Sakura said with a happy tone in her voice, "I love you Michael."

"And I love too Sakura."

They then kissed on the lips once again, they didn't care if people saw them kissing, they were just happy to finally find their soul mate and to be together, (sound familar)?

Getting to the motel swimming pool, Daisy and Monty swam in that pool for almost an hour, then they walked off back to their room. Sia and Dave sat in the hot tub for a bit, then they came in for a swim - yes, they did a shock when they came in...

"Oh, it's cold," Sia groaned.

"Maybe we should've gone in the hot tub last," added Dave as he shivered.

Kaede and I could see them and couldn't help but chuckle a little.

At around this time, it was eight thirty, only one hour till the pool is closed for the night. A few minutes after Sia and Dave came into the pool, Nerine came in.

She walked over to one of our tables and was approached by the same man who from before.

"Oh no here we go again," Kaede groaned quietly.

From where we were, we could see the man talking to Nerine and if I had to guess, he was asking her the same questions he had asked Kaede before. My guess was right because I could see that uneasy look on her face. I was about ready to get out and help Nerine when I saw Daryl come up and he looked angry.

"You were right Kaede," I whispered, "here we go again."

Daryl walked up to the man and stared at him, then he spoke in a serious way to him, personally I don't think the man liked hearing that Nerine already has a boyfriend.

"And now he's going to walk away," I said quietly.

"I don't he is," said Kaede.

She was right, the man didn't walk away - instead, he threw a huge punch at Daryl, luckily he was able to dodge it, but not a second punch from one of the man's buddies.

"Get the girl," one of the man's buddies snickered.

"No you don't," snapped Daryl as he tried to get back up, but was kicked in the stomach by another man.

"Stop it!" shouted Nerine.

Dave and I could see this and without wasting a second, we got out of the pool and ran over to the troublemakers, "hurt my brother will you?" Dave shouted angerily, "I don't think so!"

Dave threw a huge punch to the man while Nerine and I helped Daryl back to his feet.

"Are you okay Daryl?" Nerine asked with a worried tone in her voice.

"I'm okay," he groaned, "although I'll say this about that guy, he sure can throw a good punch."

"Dave!" I called to him, "let them go! There's no need to fight."

"Alright," he sighed unhappily and let the men leave. All three men walked away and out of the room, they were looking quite pleased with themselves, "punks!" Dave muttered out loud.

"Are you sure you're okay Daryl?" Nerine asked kindly.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he said with a smile on his face.

"Thank you for sticking up for me, that was really sweet and brave of you."

"You're welcome Nerine," he said. It was then that his lips met Nerine's as they kissed.

"How cute," smiled Sia, then very quietly she said, "congratulations Rina." As for the rest of us, we were quiet throughout that time, but it was clear to see that we were happy for Nerine and Daryl.

At around nine thirty, we were all back in our rooms, I had already changed into my pajamas a few minutes ago. Kaede was in the washroom getting into her pajamas. Tonight, she was going to wear the light grey pajamas that look so close to her white dress.

"That guy's got a lot of nerve," I was saying to Kaede, "I can tell you one thing, that guy is never going to get married, wouldn't you agree with me?"

"Yeah I agree with you," she called to me, "I didn't like the way he was talking to me."

"I didn't like the way he was talking to you either, and I don't think Nerine or Daryl liked the way he was talking either."

Kaede had finally changed into her pajamas and was now walking out to see me. She walked over towards me and gave me a quick kiss on the lips, "I love you," she said sweetly.

"And I love you too," I smiled.

We then climbed into bed, Kaede was laying to my left side once again, she was still smiling and she was blushing too. I placed my left hand on her left shoulder and held her close to me. Then I gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Are you comfortable Kaede?"

"I am, thank you," she smiled and then she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

"She's had a long day," I thought to myself as I looked down to my sleeping wife, "I'll see you in the morning Kaede," I whispered kindly to her. I think she heard me because she continued to smile and mutter 'I Love You' while she was sleeping, she does that sometimes, (I think it's cute).

I wasn't sleepy just then, so I turned down the volume on the television and watched an episode of 'Disorderly Conduct: Video on Patrol' until I finally grew tired. After the episode was done, I turned off the television and was about to close my eyes when I heard loud shouting like someone was having a party and there was also loud music.

"I wonder if it's the same jerk from before," I thought to myself. I looked down to my wife, Kaede was still asleep. I kissed her on the forehead again, then I closed my eyes and went off to sleep.

I'm sorry to tell you guys this, but alot of the visitors at the motel could get any sleep at all, reason was because of those punks again. I don't know what was worse about their behaviours, was it the fact they were playing loud music? Or could it be because they were shouting so loudly that woke a lot of people up? Or could it be because they were smashing the windows of their motel room? Either way, these guys were very rude and I think everyone called the cops on them.

The next morning, (October 27th), I stepped outside and saw just what happened. There was shattered glass everywhere, from beer bottles to the window's glass, the room they had been staying in was badly damaged and a Portable sterio was outside the room.

"What the heck happened out here?" I asked.

"Don't you know?" asked the motel manager, "some punks were playing loud music last night and smashing just about everything in the room, which included the window. Officers came a short time ago to arrest them..."

"Those punks started attacking the officers," said Daryl as he walked up, "I could see everything from my room - one of those punks is the same guy we met last night."

"You got to be kidding me."

"Afraid not - at least we don't have to worry about him going after my girlfriend..."

"Or my wife," I said firmly, Daryl looked at me confused, "yes, he said the same thing to Kaede, that was until he found out that she is my wife."

"Did he punch you?"

"Nope, he never punched me."

"I'll be sure to report this to the officers," said the motel manager as he saw another police car come up to the room, "was he the one guy with blonde hair?"

"That would be him," Daryl and I said in unison.

With that said, the motel manager walked off to speak with the officer, while Daryl and I walked off to our rooms, he walked back into his room where Nerine, Dave and Sia were waiting.

"What happened out there Matthew?" Kaede asked me as I came back into the room.

"Do you remember that guy from last night?" I asked, Kaede nodded her head, "Well he and his buddies had a late night party, they broke the window, damaged the room and pretty much got on everyone's nerves, they were arrested earlier this morning."

Kaede looked out the door, she could see the damage caused, "Oh my," she gasped, "what a mess."

"Yeah that's what I thought too."

A couple of hours later, Kaede and I were in the mall again, just looking around and doing some shopping. We weren't alone, Rin and Asa were with us as well, (they came in Rin's van while Kaede rode with me in the truck).

"Like I said, this mall isn't as big as the small mall we got back in Tokyo," I called to Asa and Rin.

"That's okay Matthew," Asa called, "we don't mind - I actually like this mall."

"Me too," said Rin.

(Just to let you guys know, we are all talking in the english language whenever we go out. Lucky for all of us that we can speak the language, although Rin has a bit of trouble speaking english).

For the next twenty minutes, we walked around the Zellers store, Asa found a shirt she really liked, while Rin found an interesting book about boats.

"You really are interested in boats aren't you?" I asked.

He nodded his head, he wanted to talk, but it's like I said - he doesn't know how to speak english properly.

After shopping in Zellers, I treated everyone to lunch at that fancy resturant I told Kaede about yesterday.

"What would you recommand Matthew?" Asa asked.

"Well Asa, I would recommand the spagetti and meatballs, it's very good."

"Okay then, that's we'll get," as she said that, she was looking over to Rin, "would you like to have spagetti and meatballs Rin?"

"Yes please," he said quietly.

"And what about you Kaede?" I asked as I looked over to my wife, "what would you like?"

"I would like the spagetti and meatballs," she answered sweetly, "is that what you're going to have?"

"Yes, that's what I'm going to have," I nodded my head happily as I answered her. Our waiter came over and asked us what we would like, he was surprised at first to find out that we all wanted Spagetti and meatballs, but he didn't say anything as he walked away.

He came back fifteen minutes later with our bowls of spagetti and meatballs.

"Those are big meatballs," said Asa, "and there's a lot of spagetti in this bowl."

"Yeah these meals will usually fill up till dinner time," I chuckled.

Boy was I ever going to be proven right, by the time we were finished, Asa, Rin and Kaede were full, "you weren't kidding when you said this was going to fill us up," Asa groaned quietly, "I have to admit though that it was very good."

"I was just going to say that," Kaede giggled, we all chuckled after hearing that joke. Kaede then whispered into my right ear, "but I like the way you cook spagetti and meatballs better."

"Do you mean that?" I whispered to her.

"Yes," she whispered back.

She wiped the spagetti sauce off her lips, then she gave me a quick kiss on the right side of my face.

Asa and Rin stayed at the mall to do some more shopping, while Kaede and I went out to North Colbolt, (a couple of towns away from New Liskard). Once we reached the town, we stopped at the North Colbolt Flea Market for a while.

"I used to come here all the time when I was younger," I was saying to Kaede, "and by the looks of things, it hasn't changed a bit - ah, I'm not giving you a boring time here am I?"

"Of course not, I'm having a good time Matthew, especially since I'm with you and..."

"Like you said last night, you always have a great time with me no matter where we go right?"

"Yes," she smiled.

I just smiled as I stared into those wonderful blue eyes of my wife - when I used to tell stories about my many trips to New Liskard to my friends, they somehow found them to be boring and yet - when I tell my stories or show Kaede some of the places I used to go to, she's never bored at all. She loves me for who I am and that is one of the _many_ reasons why I love her.

I held out my right hand and she grabbed it with her left hand, then we walked inside the store together. We spent thirty minutes looking around in there, Kaede got a few things from the store, then we went a little tour of North Colbolt before returning to the New Liskard.

That night, we went to 'Gillies' for dinner, once again having cheese fingers and pizza fingers. After we returned to the motel, we got changed into our bathing suits and went into the pool for an hour.

A thunderstorm came around as we returned to our room, we got changed into our pajamas and layed down side by side on the bed.

"Can I tell you something Matthew?"

"Sure Kaede, what is it?"

"When I was a little girl, I was always scared of the lightning and thunder, whenever I saw the lightning, it made me jump in fright and I would scream when I heard the thunder - that went on until I was five when my mom told me not to be scared, she really helped conquer my fears of a thunderstorm."

"What did she do?"

"She would stay with me until the storm went past - can you promise me not to mention that to anyone?"

"I promise," I whispered softly, "truth be told Kaede, I used to be scared of thunderstorms until I was nine - of course I had no help conquering my fear - do you promise not to tell anyone?"

"You can trust me Matthew, I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"Thank you," I then gave her a small kiss on her forehead, she blushed a shade of red at that moment. After the small kiss, I layed back down, then Kaede came over towards me and layed down right on top of me.

"Are you comfortable Kaede?"

She nodded her head as the lightning flashed outside, "Good night Matthew, I love you."

"Good night Kaede, I love you too."

Then at the same time, Kaede and I closed our eyes and went happily to sleep, and as you can guess, Kaede dreamed about me and I dreamed about her.


	12. New Liskard and the Nearby Towns

It has been a while since I've posted any new episodes of 'Our Kinda Trip', well that's mostly because I ran out of ideas - gosh I hate it when that happens. Now after my most recent trip to New Liskard, I have come up with more ideas for the New Liskard and Kirkland Lake chapters. Now, looking back on the previous chapters I did, I forgot to mention which room Lisa is staying in while everyone stays in New Liskard, well she's staying in the same room as Kikyou and Patrick, just to make sure she doesn't hurt Patrick. Remember, the rating of this story is still PG with no swearing included and now here is the long awaited chapter 12 of Our Kinda Trip, enjoy!

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 12: New Liskard and the Nearby Towns**_

The next morning, (October 28th 2010), I was sitting on the front end of the bed while Kaede was in the washroom, she was going to have a shower first, then it would be my turn. While I waited, I checked out the guide to see what was on, "same as always," I said to myself, "nothing's on. I guess some things just don't change - then again, some things do..."

I was talking about the all new 'Holiday Inn' that was being built next door to our motel, by the looks of it, it was going to be four stories tall.

"Matthew?" I looked to my right and saw Kaede standing there, she had a towel wrapped around her while she had another towel on top of her head, "you can use the shower now if you want it."

"Thanks Kaede," I said as I got up from our bed. I walked over to the suitcase and picked out the clothes I wanted to wear today, which included my pair of dark blue jeans and light blue T-Shirt, "I'll be out in a few minutes okay?"

"Okay," so Kaede sat down on the bed while I went to take my shower.

Seven minutes later, I was all dressed and ready for another day of exploring the town of New Liskard and some of the nearby towns. Kaede had changed while I was in the shower (I asked her before I came out of the washroom if she was dressed, she said yes).

"So Kaede, how would you feel about going to the town of North Colbolt today? It's not too far from here."

"I would love to go with you to North Colbolt," she answered happily.

So after making sure we had our keys, and Kaede had her ribbon in her hair, we walked out of the room and over to the truck. We could see Michael and Sakura walking along side by side and holding hands the entire time.

We then looked to our left and noticed the construction work going on at the site of the new 'Holiday Inn'.

"Wow they're really working hard on that new hotel," I said out loud. Just then I felt someone slap me on the back, knocking me to the ground, "come on Lisa, we're on vacation, do you have to slap me on the back?"

"Yes, you know I can't go threw the day without slapping you," she giggled, just like Asa does.

"Have you ever been to New Liskard before?" Kaede asked Lisa.

"Nope, this is my first time here," she answered.

"So, how is it staying in the same room with Kikyou and Patrick?" I asked as I got to my feet.

"It's okay, except that Kikyou is always giving Patrcik the dirty look. It's so bad that he wanted to sleep near the door for the hallway, just in case Kikyou attacks him."

"I have my reasons for giving him that look," said Kikyou, who was standing close by.

Lisa looked over to Kikyou, "you wouldn't really hurt Patrick would you?"

"Maybe I would, then again - maybe I wouldn't," she said in a mysterious way.

"The poor boy never got a wink of sleep last night," Lisa said to me, "he's afraid that Kikyou will attack him, so he stays up just to make sure she doesn't..."

We looked over to the seventh room, Patrick was standing outside the door - he had dark lines under his eyes and he yawned a lot.

"Maybe I should put him in a different room..."

"Don't bother," said Naomi as she walked over, along with Daisy and Monty behind her, "Patrick deserves it after all - he was the baka that lead the attack aganist Kaede. If you let me have my way I'd..."

"Shut up!" snapped Daisy as she slapped her hand over Naomi's mouth.

"Maybe I could put him in the same room with Ryan, Emily, Itsuki and Mayumi," I said, "I'll check with them later today - Lisa, do you mind hanging out with Patrick today? I just don't want to see him get hurt."

"Sure thing Matthew, I'll keep an eye on him," just before she walked away, she slapped me on the back again, knocking me down to the ground, "I love doing that!" she giggled and walked off.

"Well I don't," I muttered.

"Are you okay Matthew?" Kaede asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I groaned.

A little later, Kaede and I were heading off to the town of North Colbolt, we weren't alone as Michael and Sakura were with us. They were sitting in the back seat, side by side, smiling and holding hands throughout the entire time.

Kaede looked back to see Michael whispering something in Sakura's ear, "how beautiful," she whispered quietly. She then rested her head on my shoulder once again.

After a seven minute drive, we finally arrived at the town of North Colbolt, not too far from Colbolt itself.

Our first stop today was the North Colbolt flea market.

"It's huge," gasped Sakura as she looked at the entire building.

I chuckled quietly, "you haven't seen anything yet, just wait till we get inside."

Michael, Sakura and Kaede gasped when we walked inside - the flea market was huge, roughly around the size of Kaede's old classroom X6. I looked around, by the looks of the store, it had changed quite a bit since the last I was there.

After the shock wore off, Michael and Sakura went one way (to the left) while Kaede and I went the other (to the right side of the store).

"They sell fireworks here?" Kaede asked me.

"Yep, they sell fireworks here."

"Did they use to sell fireworks when you visited as a kid?"

"They did, I remember seeing those a few times when my parents and I came here."

A few minutes later, Michael and Sakura came over, "that one part of the store has rows of non stop auto parts," said Michael, "only two rows are different, they mostly have fabrics, pencils and all sort of art supplies."

"Were those rows always full of auto parts Matthew?" Sakura asked.

"Nope, they were usually in this part of the flea market. Last time I was here, they had food, toys, and kitchen appliances in that part of the store."

For the next ten to fifteen minutes, we looked around the flea market, we found a few things, payed for them, then we headed off for Colbolt.

"Was this a mining town?" Sakura asked.

"Yep, this was a mining town once," at this point, we were pulling up to a mineshaft. There were several old wagons at the enterance and a tall tower standing close by, it was completely rusty.

"We can only imagine what it was like to work here in those days," said Michael.

Kaede got out the camera and took a picture of the tower and the wagons too. Sakura was looking at the tower, "from what I've heard, mining is a very dangerous job - and probably scary too."

"Probably," I said as Kaede and I looked at the wagons.

"I wonder why this mine closed down," she said.

"I'm not really sure why it closed down, maybe it's because the tunnels were dangerous to go into or maybe it's because this mine ran out of coal, I don't know."

After visiting the mine, we drove over to the train station to watch one of today's Ontario Northland passenger trains come in and depart with the many passengers waiting at the station. When the train was leaving, we waved to the passengers until the train was out of sight.

On the way back to the motel, we passed through North Colbolt again, Sakura was looking out the window, "hey Matthew, did you know there's a Corner Gas here?"

"Is there really?" Michael asked as he looked.

Sure enough, there was a little gas station called 'Corner Gas', although it looked a little different from the Corner Gas on television.

"I knew it was there, I saw it the last time I was here."

"Who would've guessed there was a Corner Gas in North Colbolt," Sakura giggled quietly, Michael chuckled too.

We soon passed through the next town, it had very big hills, they were steep, "I hope they put plenty of salt on the roads during the winter," said Michael, "otherwise..."

"Drivers will go into the water for a cold swim," I said, I knew what Michael was going to say, "yes they do put plenty of salt on the road during winter, I know because my parents and I have made a few trips here during the wintertime in the past."

After leaving the 'hilly' town, we drove on back to New Liskard, the road ran alongside one of the lakes and a bicycle trail.

"Those weren't there before were they?" Kaede asked me.

"Nope, they weren't there before," I answered back, "they must've added it most recently."

Later on that evening, Kaede and I were eating out again, this time at a resturant called 'Zante's', this resturant at one time was called 'Burgers and More', but they closed down and this resturant moved in (not sure when though). The inside of the resturant looked similar to the way it looked like when my parents and I used to come here during our visits to New Liskard, there were only a few changes made, mostly around the bar area.

Tonight, Kaede and I were out with Daisy and Monty.

"Tonight's meal is on me okay?" I told them.

"Well if you're sure Matt," Daisy said with a smile on her face, I nodded my head. Then she and Monty started to look threw the menus.

I was still looking threw the menu when I saw two other people walk into the resturant, it was my parents again, "shoot," I muttered, the last thing I wanted was for my parents to see us and come over here, but luck wasn't on our side tonight.

They saw us and walked over to where we were, "you're still here," my mother said angerily.

"Yes I'm still here," I muttered darkly.

"So where is your little sister? Or are you not going to let me meet her?" she said it with a snarl in her voice.

Daisy looked nervously over to my mother, she didn't want to introduce herself to her. Still, she did, "I'm Matt's sister," she said, "my name is Daisy."

My mother looked over to Daisy with the same angry look, "you're his little sister?"

"I am," she said with a nervous tone in her voice.

Monty was sitting to her right side, he stared at my mother with a firm look on his face. My mother stared back at him, "and you would be...?"

"My name is Monty, I happen to be Daisy's boyfriend," he said firmly.

"I'm going to give you the same warning as last time," I spoke up, "if you don't have anything nice to say to us, then don't bother opening your mouth again. I don't want to hear you insult my wife or my sister."

"Same here," Monty spoke up.

She didn't say another word, she just walked off with my father, strangely enough he didn't say anything either. When they were out of sight, Daisy gave Monty a kiss on the lips, "thank you for sticking up for me Monty."

"You're welcome," he smiled, "but don't forget that your big brother was sticking up for you and Kaede too."

"Yes," she then looked over to me, "thank you Matt."

"Yes, thank you," Kaede said happily.

Before I could say anything else, my mother came back over and oh boy was she ever mad, "look, I do not like the way you speak to me Matthew and now you got your new friends saying horrible things."

"Oh here we go, you assume that it's all my fault now," I groaned, "in case you forgot Lorraine, you were the one who turned on me and left me with a house I couldn't pay for anymore."

"Will you at least give me a chance to explain why we did that?"

"No I will not allow you to speak!" I snapped angerily, raising my voice a bit, "I've heard enough of your lies before and I certainly don't want to hear them now! You're just going to make it sound like it's _my_ fault! So do me a huge favour and get out of my sight!"

My angry yelling shocked Monty, Kaede and Daisy, but it seemed to surprise my mother even more. I apologized to everyone for yelling, then I sat down. I was expecting to be yelled at again, but instead, she walked away without another word.

"Maybe you should hear her out," Kaede said kindly.

"Not yet Kaede, not yet," I said as calmly as I could.

We didn't talk about my parents or my old life back in Markham for the rest of the night, instead we talked about our day out on the towns and ate our meals when they were brought over to our table.

The next day, Kaede and I went alone to the town of Engleheart, "isn't that your cousin's old hometown?" Kaede asked me.

"It is," I answered, "she and her family used to live near that town when I was just a young boy. Although, for some reason - they were always moving from one house to another, that was until my Aunt Sally married Frank, then they stayed up in Kirkland Lake."

It wasn't long before we arrived, Kaede got out her camera and took some pictures of the town.

"I wonder if it's still sitting there," I said out loud. Kaede looked over to me confused at first, that was until we pulled up to the town's Ontario Northland railway station.

Just outside of the station was a steam locomotive, it was painted in black, yellow and lime green. It had four front wheels, six driving wheels and two back wheels, (it's a pacific locomotive), it had the letters 'Temiskaming and Northern Ontario' on the sides of it's tender.

"Is that the original name of the Ontario Northland Railway?" Kaede asked me.

"Yep, that was it's name back in the days of steam," I answered.

Kaede took a lot of pictures of the steam engine while I took a good look around it.

"I saw some signs in the town saying that they're funding for a restoration of this engine," Kaede told me, "it said that they're halfway to their goal."

"That's good to hear," I said happily, "it'll be great to see the only remaining steam engine of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario railway return to the rails."

"The only remaining steam engine?" Kaede asked me.

"Yes. There was another engine, number 503 of North Bay, but it was burned to a crisp by vandals, along with the last remaining TEE train," (the TEE train, known as the Trans Europe Express, was one of the Ontario Northland finest passenger trains until they were retired, the only remaining train set was in North Bay behind 503), "as far as I know, 701 here is the last T&ON steamer left."

Kaede and I walked over to the platform to watch a freight train pass by, she filmed it with the camera. When the train was gone, we went back to the truck and headed off back to New Liskard.

Before we returned to the town, we stopped at Thornloe. Reason was because of a small store that sold popsciles, milk and cheese products, which included cheese curds. We got three packages, one for us and two were for our friends.

"How are they Kaede?" I asked as we continued on our way back to New Liskard.

"They're very good," she smiled, "would you like one Matthew?"

"Yes please," I said happily. Kaede pulled one of the bag and give it to me, "still as good as before."

We were soon back at our motel room, we were laying down side by side once again. This time, Kaede was sleeping while I was awake. She was breathing softly, she looked so cute and beautiful too. My lips came closer and closer to her lips till they connected and we kissed, that little kiss woke her up, but she closed her eyes and kissed me back.

We kissed for two minutes, then after our lips seperated, we stared into each other's eyes and held hands.

"I love you Matthew," Kaede said with a cute tone in her voice.

"And I love you too Kaede," I said happily.

We layed there, with only country music playing on the television in our room, for four minutes. Then we heard someone knock at the door. I got up and opened the door.

"Hey Matthew," it was Daryl on the other end, he wasn't alone as Nerine was with him, "I hope we didn't catch you at a bad time."

"You didn't catch us at a bad time," Kaede said as she got up from the bed, "we were just relaxing, right Matthew?"

"That's right Kaede," I nodded happily, then I looked back over to Nerine and Daryl, "why do you ask?"

"Well we were wondering if you like to play in the arcade with us," Nerine answered.

"Of course we would," we said in unison.

So once we had our keys, all four of us walked down the hallway to the arcade.

As we walked into the lobby, Kaede was looking over to the pool area, "look, Yukie, Shiori and Naomi are swimming in the pool!"

We looked, sure enough, we could see all three girls swimming in the pool, as well as Dave and Sia, they were at the far end of the pool. In the arcade, Michael and Sakura were playing one of the many fighting games in there.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" I asked.

"Well - we could play some pool, you up for a game Matthew?" Daryl asked.

"You bet I am."

Daryl and I grabbed the poles we needed, while Nerine set the table up for us, then she stood back to where Michael, Sakura and Kaede were going to watch the game.

"Your winning streak is going to come to an end tonight Matthew," Daryl said with determination.

"Oh I don't think so Daryl," I chuckled, "I'm not going to lose tonight."

"This ought to be good," Michael whispered to Sakura.

Try as he might, Daryl could not beat me, I got more balls down the holes than he did, which included the eight ball. Sakura gave it a try next, "I used to play pool when I lived in america," she said, "maybe I can end your winning streak."

"We'll see," I chuckled.

I have to admit that Sakura was very good at playing pool, she nearly had me beat, but as you can guess, I won with only three balls left on the table.

"I must be a little rusty," Sakura said quietly as she returned to the sidelines.

"Get ready bro," said Michael, "I'm up next."

Like Sakura, he nearly beat me, until we got to the last ball on the table, the eight ball. Michael didn't get it in the hole, but I did.

"Dang it," he groaned, "I lost again."

I was already wiped out from playing three games in a row, so for the next thirty minutes, Kaede and I played some of the other games in the arcade while Daryl and Nerine played a game of pool.

After playing in the arcade for a while, Kaede and I returned back to the motel room at around five fifteen.

"Matthew," Kaede said as soon as we came back in, "would you like to go swimming for a while?"

"Sure Kaede, I would love to go swimming with you - at least now we won't have to worry about those punks trying to 'hit' on you again."

"That's true," she said with a smile on her face, then she asked, "and if it's okay with you, when we get back - is it okay if I cook up dinner tonight?"

"Sure Kaede, you can cook up dinner tonight - to be honest with you, it'll be good to eat homecooking again," I said with a smile on my face.

Kaede showed me her beautiful trademark smile again, then she went to her suitcase and pulled out her bikini bathing suit, the red one with pink outlines, "I'll be out in a few mintues okay?"

"Okay Kaede."

While she was getting changed, I got changed into my swimtrunks. A minute later, Kaede came out, then we both walked off to the pool, side by side. We had a good swim, although there were a lot of whispers going around. People were whispering, "They're so cute together" and "she's so beautiful". Kaede and I didn't mind if they said that.

We swam for an hour, then we returned to our room. Kaede made us a special noddle dinner.

"Like I said before," I said after the meals were made and we were sitting side by side on the bed, "it's good to taste home cooking again - your food is always delicous Kaede."

"Thank you Matthew," she said happily while blushing. We continued eating our meals and watching a show called 'America's Funniest Home Videos', then after we were done eating, we talked a bit about tomorrow's visit to my cousin's hometown - Kirkland Lake.


	13. Kirkland Lake

Here's the next installment of the 'Our Kinda Trip' series. In this episode, the gang heads off to their Kirkland Lake to visit Nicole Henden and her family. This chapter is deeply inspired by the night out I had with my cousin and her friends the last time I went to Kirkland Lake. Rating is still PG, with no swearing included - enjoy!

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 13: Kirkland Lake**_

In the early hours of Saturday October 30th 2010, Kaede and I were heading off to Kirkland Lake to visit my cousin Nicole. We weren't alone as Naomi, Daisy and Monty were riding along with us, as for the rest of our friends and family - they're back in New Liskard checking out the sights of the town.

"Do they know we're coming Matt?" Daisy asked.

"Yep, they know we're coming," I answered, "I phoned them a few nights ago and told them that we were in New Liskard - they sounded excited to hear that."

"Hey Matthew," Monty spoke up, "have you ever made a trip all the way from Markham to Kirkland Lake all in one day?"

"Nope, my parents and I always stopped in New Liskard when we came up here, we never made the trip all the way to Kirkland Lake all in one day."

"It would mean a seven hour road trip am I right?" Kaede asked curiously.

"That's correct Kaede."

We only made one stop along the way and that was to the store that sold those cheese curds, we got three packages for all of us.

Two hours later, we finally arrived in the town of Kirkland Lake, there were a lot of hills at first, but then we drove on to flat roads the rest of the way. Lucky for all of us, I remembered where their house was, so we didn't get lost.

"Two years later he still remembers where the house is," Naomi said out loud. I couldn't tell if she was joking at that point.

"Try behaving nicely for a change," Daisy said firmly, "and no jokes."

"Fine," Naomi huffed angerily.

At last we pulled into the driveway of a small two story house, "looks like someone's been expecting us," said Kaede as she looked out the window. I looked and saw young Sadie standing there, waving to us.

"Hi cousin Matty," she called to me.

"Hey Sadie," I called back.

I hadn't even gotten to the gate when I felt someone hugging me, "it's so good to see you Matthew," it was my Aunt Sally, "how was the drive here? Have you eaten anything? Are you really married to Kaede?"

"The drive here was okay, yes we've eaten and I am really married to Kaede," I groaned, she was hugging me very tightly, "ah Aunt Sally, I can't breathe."

"Oh sorry," she said as she let go of me. Then she walked over to Kaede, she didn't need to ask - Kaede showed her the diamond ring, "it's so beautiful - and it says 'ILY'. Did Matthew say where he got that ring?"

"He got it from a jewelery store in Strasburg Pennsylvania," Kaede answered.

"So where's Nicole?" Naomi asked.

"She went to the store to get a few things," called Frank, he was in the yard setting up the picnic table, "she'll be back any minute."

"So what's new with you guys?" Aunt Sally asked.

"Monty and I are a couple now," Daisy said with a smile on her face, then she wrapped her arms around Monty's right arm.

We walked into the yard, then we told Aunt Sally, Frank and Sadie all they missed since they left Tokyo a few months ago (and that included some stories from the trip Kaede and I went on in August).

We had just told them about the 'knucklehead' attack at around the time Nicole returned.

"Oh my gosh, how do you feel now Kaede?" Aunt Sally asked kindly.

"I'm feeling okay," she then looked over to me, "it could've been worse had it not been for Matthew." She reached out her left hand to me and I grabbed it with my right hand, "he saved me from those boys."

"He brought a real smackdown on those guys," Naomi said out loud.

"I sure did," I said in agreemnt.

"And I thought we asked you to please be careful," Frank said firmly.

"Big Bro didn't want a fight with those guys," Naomi spoke up, "they were the ones that barged in and attacked Kaede, Big Bro was just protecting his home and the girl he loves."

"Just like any other person would," Nicole nodded her head in agreement.

It was then we heard a faint buzzing, "excuse me one second," said Nicole as she pulled out her cellphone, "my friends are texting me." She replied back to the text, Sadie was trying hard to see what Nicole was doing.

"Who's texting you?" Daisy asked.

"My friends, Steve and Chelsea, I'm just telling them that you guys are visiting."

We then heard a chainsaw operating from one of their next door neighbours, "what's your neighbour doing?" Monty asked.

"Ah he's just cutting off some branches off a few of those trees in his yard," Frank was saying as he looked over to the neighbour's yard. Sure enough, we could see their neighbour cutting off branches that didn't look too healthy.

"Would you like to see our house Kaede?" Aunt Sally asked.

"Yes, I would like to see the house."

So Aunt Sally lead Kaede and myself into the house.

At around lunchtime, Frank barbecued some hamburgers, steaks and hot dogs for all of us. When he brought the hot dogs over to the table, Naomi looked at them strangely.

"Oh no," I groaned, "don't tell you've never had a hot dog before either."

"That's right," Naomi said quietly while blushing with embarrassment, "I've never had a hot dog before - how do you eat it?"

"It's simple Naomi," Monty said as he picked up a hot dog and placed it inside a bun, then he took a bite of it, "see, that's how you eat hot dogs."

"Oh," she said meekily, "please don't say this to anyone else please."

"Don't worry Naomi," Kaede said kindly, "Your secret is safe with us."

"And us too," Nicole added.

"Thanks, the last thing I need is for everyone to find out that I didn't know how to eat hot dogs," Naomi looked down to her hot dog while trying to hide her face, she was still blushing.

Nicole brought up another subject as she looked over to Kaede and myself, "my friends Steve and Chelsea are going to be coming by a little later to visit, so I was wondering if you two would like to see the town with us."

"Of course we would," Kaede and I said in unison.

"Very well then, they'll be coming around three."

Aunt Sally then spoke up, "so I heard you had a little talk with your parents, how did that go?"

"How did you know that? Ah never mind, I'm sure I know the reason. Anyhow, in answer to your question, I did have a talk with my parents - I had no trouble with dad, but mom - well she's still mad at me."

"I can't understand how your mother could mad at you."

"She's mad at me because I moved to Tokyo and choosing Kaede to be my girlfriend - and now she's mad at me because I married her."

"And I think she's mad at you for having a sister too," Daisy added, then she looked over to Aunt Sally, "how did you know that Matt..."

"She has her ways," I chuckled and mostly everyone laughed at that.

At around three, we were still talking when two other people showed up, "perfect timing guys," called Nicole, "I would like to meet my cousin Matthew."

"It's nice to meet you Matthew," said Steve, "Nicole's told us a great deal about you."

"And his girlfriend too you idiot," Chelsea giggled as she punched Steve's shoulder.

"Yes I was just about to introduce you guys to her," Nicole giggled, "this is Matthew's wife, Kaede."

"Wife?" they exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm Matthew's wife," Kaede said with a smile on her face, "we got married a month ago," she then proudly showed off the diamond ring to Chelsea and Steve.

"Wow that's beautiful," Chelsea said as she looked at it.

"It looks very expensive too," added Steve.

"So are you two ready to go?" Nicole asked us. Kaede and I nodded happily at the same time.

I then looked back over to Daisy, Monty and Naomi, "we'll back soon okay?" they nodded their heads, then we headed out to see the town of Kirkland Lake.

"So Kaedee," Chelsea said (saying her name wrong), "how long are you and Matthew going to be staying in Canada?"

"For three weeks," she answered, "we're spending two weeks in New Liskard, then we'll heading off to Toronto - oh and my name is Kaede, not Kaedee."

"Oh sorry."

"Does your name mean maple by the way?" Steve asked, Kaede nodded her head, "I knew it."

"Huh! You finally got something right."

"Now that's just being mean," Steve chuckled, then we saw him type something on his cellphone - a second later, we heard Chelsea's phone go off, she checked out the messages and gasped when she saw it.

"You're such a meanie," she said, bumping his left side hard, nearly making him fall to the ground.

"Are they like this all the time Nicole?" I asked.

"They sure are," she giggled.

"So Matthew," Steve spoke up, "Nicole told us that us that you moved out of Canada and went to Tokyo Japan, is it true? Sometimes I can't tell if Nicole is telling the truth or if she's being serious."

(Quite the joker ain't he?)

"Why you!" Nicole opened her water bottle, then spilled some of the water on him.

"I wasn't expecting a cold shower," he chuckled.

I cleared my throat so that I could get everyone's attention, "Nicole is quite right, I did move to Tokyo Japan. I haven't returned to Canada for over a year since I left in August, last year."

"You must've felt a little homesick when you moved in with Kaede," said Chelsea, she said Kaede's name correctly.

"Nah not really, I never once felt homesick when I moved to Tokyo. To be honest with you guys, that old house in Markham Ontario, it didn't like home to me."

"Where is Markham anyways?" Steve as he interupted me.

"It's the town closest to Stouffville, which is almost seven hours away from here," I answered then continued where I left off, "when I moved in with Kaede, that's when I felt that I was _finally_ home for the first time ever. I hope you don't mind if I said that," I said to Kaede.

"I don't mind," she said, "Cause my home is your home too."

She reached her right hand and I grabbed it with my left hand.

"Do you mind if I get a picture of you two?" Chelsea asked.

"We don't mind," Kaede and I answered in unison. Kaede and I stood real close to each other while Chelsea took the picture with her cellphone, Nicole took another picture with her cellphone.

After the pictures were taken, we walked up to a small convenience store.

"I'm hungry," Chelsea said out loud.

"Aren't you always?" Steve asked as a joke. He ran on ahead while Chelsea chased after him. Nicole, Kaede and I just chuckled as we watched those two. Of course since they were running, they reached the convenience store before we did.

"If you guys wanted to race," said Nicole, "you could've told us."

"Yeah maybe," chuckled Steve.

All five of us walked in - then a few mintues later we came out with slices of pizza, but we didn't eat them yet.

"Where are you taking us Nicole?" I asked.

"You'll see," she said.

We followed Nicole and her friends down the street until we reached a small little forest. We had to be very careful walking threw there, mostly because of the rocks, they were higher than we thought and it was a little steep walking down them.

Kaede looked terrified as we walked on them, but I promised her that I wouldn't let go of her hand as I helped to the ground again.

At last, we finally reached the spot where Nicole and her friends wanted to hang out at - Kaede and I gasped...we could see a lot of the town of Kirkland Lake from where we were.

"Be careful where you're walking," Chelsea said to us, "these rocks are a little steep."

Kaede and I walked up to the top of the rock ledge (for the record, that one portion of the hill was covered with lots of rocks), then we sat down at the same time as Nicole and her friends did.

"Breath taking view isn't it?" Steve asked.

"It's beautiful," Kaede smiled. She brought out her digital camera and took several pictures of the beautiful view and even some of Nicole, Steve and Chelsea.

"Hey Nicole you might want to be careful with your cellphone," I said. She had it sitting just above a crack on the rock.

"Thanks Matthew," she went to grab it, but it slipped - thankfully it fell inside the crack, "it's not broken, it's fine."

While we sat up on top of those rocks, we ate our pizzas and listened to some music on our Iphones or Ipods. Kaede and I were listening to 'I Swear' by 'John Michael Montgomery', and as you can guess, I sang a small portion of the song for her.

"_I swear, by the moon and the stars in the sky, I'll be there. I swear, like the shadow that's by your side, I'll be there._"

"You're good," Steve spoke up, "are you a professional singer back in Tokyo?"

"Nope, I only sing to Kaede - I haven't performed in front of a crowd in ages."

Nicole looked over to me confused, "when did you ever perform in front of a group of people?"

"Mostly in high school, I used to sing and play the guitar every friday - sadly, that stopped after I got into my second semester of grade 10, then I didn't sing or play guitar."

"Why's that?" Chelsea asked kindly.

"Well it's because certain people said I wasn't a good singer or guitar player and didn't want to see someone like me do either one of those things - and just for the record, that's not what they said, but I don't feel comfortable repeating what they said."

"I can't understand why they said that, you sounded pretty good," then she looked over to Kaede, "Does he always sing to you?"

"He does, and I love it when he does," as she said this, she wrapped her arms around my left arm and rested her head on my shoulder again. Steve and Chelsea said 'aww!' in unison as they stared at us.

So for the next few hours, we stayed at that very spot, either talking or listening to some of our favourite music. We even stayed to watch the sun set for the day, which meant that it was seven at that time.

After that, we took a different path away from the hillside. As we walked along, Chelsea and Steve were - being a little goofy, it was funny to watch - either that or they were listening to some songs on their Iphones.

"I'm hungry," Chelsea said out loud.

Steve looked back over to us, "I told you, she's always hungry."

"I'm going to get some ice cream, what about you guys?"

"Yeah sure, I'm a little hungry too," Steve chuckled and he started running off again, Chelsea chased after him. Nicole, Kaede and I walked along right after them. "What took you guys so long?" Steve called when we finally caught up to them.

"You should've told us you wanted to race," Nicole said to him, "then we would've joined you. So who won your little race anyways?" Chelsea rose her hand, and so did Steve, then they started a little argument about who won. They were arguing so much that they didn't notice that Nicole, Kaede and I had already walked into the store.

"Hey, we're alone!" exclaimed Steve. Both he and Chelsea ran into the shop, they got stuck in the doorway for a second or two, then they 'popped' in.

"What took you guys so long?" Nicole asked as a joke, trying to copy what Steve said before. Kaede and I were trying hard not to burst into laughter.

The store itself was a movie rental store, but it also sold ice cream too. I'm not quite sure what flavour ice creams Steve, Chelsea and Nicole got - as for Kaede and myself, we got two strawberry ice creams.

"I better be careful this time," I was saying, "unless I want to get breeze freeze like last time huh?" Kaede nodded in agreement.

Once we had our ice creams, we headed out again - by now the street lights were coming on, "is it okay if I take a quick picture?" she asked.

"If you want a good picture Kaede," Nicole called out to her, "just follow us!"

So we followed Nicole and her friends to the main street of the town, it was a fantastic sight to see with the many businesses that were still open and the street lights on, "what do you think Kaede?" Steve asked.

"It's wonderful," she smiled, she brought out her camera again and took several pictures. Once she had her pictures, we continued walking around.

Luckily for me, I didn't get brain freeze, but Steve did.

"You ate it too fast you idiot!" Chelsea giggled as she smacked Steve's left shoulder.

Two minutes after we finished our ice creams, we stopped by another convenience store - reason was because Chelsea wanted to get some chips, "is there anything here you would like Kaede?" I asked.

"Maybe some orange juice, would that be okay?"

"Of course it is," I smiled.

So I got us two orange juices from the cooler while Nicole, Steve and Chelsea got a bag of chips. Once we bought our drinks and chips, we walked over to the nearby park. Kaede and I sat down on one of the benches, side by side as always, while Nicole sat to my other side. As for Steve and Chelsea, they sat on the other bench.

"You know the chips are over here right?" Nicole called to them, "if you want some, you might want to come over to the 'cool' bench!"

"No come over here!" Chelsea called.

"Forget it!"

Steve walked over and sat down to Nicole's other side (Strange as it might sound, those benches were big enough for four people to sit on it), "there's a good boy," Nicole chuckled, then she looked back over to Chelsea, "come on over here and be cool!"

"No come here!"

This went on and on for quite a while, until Chelsea finally gave in and came over. We hung out there for almost thirty minutes, listening to songs on either Chelsea's or Nicole's Iphone, Kaede and I knew a lot of those songs.

"Are you two having a good time hanging out with us?" Steve asked.

"We are," Kaede nodded happily, I also nodded in agreement. Then I saw Kaede let out a huge yawn.

"Getting tired Kaede?" Chelsea asked.

"I am," she answered, "I usually go to bed before nine every night."

"In that case we better get you back to my house," said Nicole, "I'll phone my mom and yet her know we're on our way back."

Once Nicole made the call, we followed her, Chelsea and Steve down the road to Nicole's main street. "Boy this was a lot of fun," Steve said out loud, "we should do this again the next time you guys come by."

"Sure, sounds good," I said happily in agreement.

At last, we arrived back at the house. We found Naomi fast asleep in the back seat of the truck, "if you're wondering what happened to Naomi, you can thank Sadie for wiping her out," Daisy chuckled.

"Looks like she met her match today," I chuckled.

"Do you guys really have to go?" Aunt Sally asked us.

"Yeah we have to," I said as I looked over to Kaede, who let out a huge yawn.

Aunt Sally understood perfectly, "well it was great having you guys here," she said, "I hope you come back again someday for another visit."

"We will," I smiled in agreement, then I looked back over to Chelsea and Steve, "if you guys ever decide to come to Tokyo, give us a call and we'll take you guys on a tour of our city okay?"

"We will!" they called. They said their goodbyes and left.

We said our goodbyes to Nicole, Aunt Sally, Frank and Sadie, then once we were back in the truck, we drove off back to New Liskard while they waved till we were out of sight.

All the way back to the motel, Kaede, Naomi and Monty slept the whole way, only Daisy stayed awake with me - well at least for five minutes, then she went to sleep.

When we returned, Daisy helped Naomi to Yukie and Shiori's room, then she and Monty went back to their room.

I carried Kaede out of the truck and over to our room, bridal style. I didn't wake her up once, so once I turned off the lights for the room, I crawled into bed and went to sleep right beside Kaede.


	14. Halloween Night in New Liskard

I am proud to present the halloween episode of Our Kinda Trip. I originally had a different idea for this episode, but that idea just didn't work out as I had orginally planned - so I scrapped that idea and came up with the story that you're about to read. The rating for this chapter is still PG with no swearing included and I also would like to thank my bro, Mike11208, for his help with some of the ideas of this chapter. Enjoy!

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 14: Halloween Night in New Liskard**_

We had been focusing so much on the big trip that we almost forgot about Halloween, which was today! At around seven thirty, I finally woke up to see Kaede wide awake and staring at me with a smile on her face. She was still wearing the same clothes she wore last night (Remember I carried her into the room last night and didn't wake her up).

"Good morning Matthew," she said sweetly to me.

"Morning Kaede," I said while yawning, "did you sleep well last night?"

"I did, what about you?"

"Same here - just a quick question, how long have you been up?"

"I've been up since six thirty, I didn't want to wake you up so I've been watching TV and...listening to the sound of you breathing," she said this part while blushing.

I started blushing the moment she did. We looked into each other's eyes and then we kissed for a minute - it would've been two, had it not been for a knock on the door, "are you two up yet?" it was Naomi's voice.

Kaede and I got up from the bed and walked over to the door, Kaede was about to open it, but I stopped her, "I think our Little Sis is up to her usual tricks," I whispered, "I'll get her this time. Go over to the kitchen, you'll want to see this."

"Are you guys up yet?"

"We're coming," I called, pretending to be sleepy.

Kaede walked over to the kitchen while I walked over to the door. I opened the door and hid away from the enterance, "BOO!" cried Naomi, "Happy...Halloween...hey Kaede."

"Hey Naomi, happy Halloween to you too."

"Where's Big Bro, I thought I heard him coming over to the door."

I snuck up behind Little Sis, then I blew on her neck on the right side, she jumped in fright and spun around, "good morning Little Sis," I chuckled, Kaede was trying hard not to giggle.

"Very funny Big Bro," she muttered angerily.

I was still chuckling as I got a new set of clothes out of my suitcase, "I'll be out in a few minutes Kaede!" I called as I walked into the washroom.

"I'll see you in a few minutes Matthew!" she called to me.

"I've been looking forward to this day for a long time," Naomi said as she layed down on the bed, "this is the first halloween I get to spend with you guys and for once I can enjoy it."

"You might want to be careful around Max and Monty," Kaede advised, "They're bound to get up to their old tricks this year - and I'm sure they'll want to get Matthew back for the trick he played on them last year."

"Oh yeah I heard about that trick from Big Sis, man I wish I could've seen it."

A few minutes later, I came out of the washroom, then Kaede went in to get changed.

"So are you going to play some halloween tricks this year?" Naomi asked hopefully.

"You'll have to wait and see Little Sis," I chuckled. All the while I was thinking, "I'll need to keep an eye out for Max and Monty, I'm sure they'll want to get me back for last year's prank."

A little later that morning at eight thirty, Kaede and I were eating at the 'Gillies' truck stop again. This morning, we both ordered 'French Toast', "I can't remember the last time I had french toast," I was saying to Kaede, "probably the last time I was here in 2008. Anyways, after breakfast, where would you like to go?"

"Ah...could we go to that Wal Mart store?" she asked.

"Sure Kaede, is there anything in particular you were looking for?"

"Not really, I just want to look around - and maybe get some candy for trick and treaters, just in case any come by."

"Well I don't know if any will come by, but I think it's a good idea to have some candy," then I asked, "Are you going to dress up this year?"

She nodded her head, "I am going to dress up this year. I was thinking on being a princess, would that be okay?"

"Of course it's okay," I smiled, "you can dress up as a princess - but you know you're a queen in my eyes." Kaede blushed happily as I said that, she reached out her left hand and I grabbed it with my right hand. We held hands until our french toast arrived.

After we were done eating breakfast, we drove over to the Wal Mart store, which isn't too far from the motel and Gillies truck stop I might add. Besides the Wal Mart store, there's also a Canadian Tire store and a men's clothing store in the same area.

Kaede and I got out of the truck and walked over to the store, we weren't alone though as Nerine and Daryl were walking into the store too.

"We're also getting candy for the trick and treaters," said Nerine, "And we're also going to get our halloween costumes."

"What are you two going to dress up as?" Kaede asked.

"Well I was thinking of being a zombie," said Daryl, "Nerine's not sure what she wants to be yet. What about you Matthew? Are you going to dress up?"

"No, not this year. I haven't worn a halloween costume in years. Besides," I added, "I got a bad allergic reaction the last time I wore a halloween costume."

"Do you think it had latex in it?" Kaede asked.

"Most likely."

"I didn't know you were allergic to latex Matthew," said Nerine.

"Well I am - I found that out when I was thirteen when my hands were bright red and had swollen badly, it took almost two weeks to get my hands back to normal."

"Did you find out what caused your hands to swell up?"

"Yeah I did, it was the soap - turns out that certain soaps have latex in them. My first elementary school had that soap in the classrooms and in the washrooms too, but they didn't get rid of it after what happened to me, so I started carrying hand sanitizer with me until I was transferred to St. Bridgid school."

"And I suppose Matthew told you this when you two were talking on the chatroom right?" Daryl asked Kaede.

"Yes, he told me about his allergies to latex," she answered, "I was shocked to find out about it."

After talking with Nerine and Daryl for a bit, we went our seperate ways. Kaede and I went over to the food section of the store and picked out some candy for tonight, then we went to check out the costumes.

Right away, Kaede found an interesting costume. It was a pink princess dress which came with a crown.

"Is the one you're going to get Kaede?" I asked.

"Yes, this is the one I'm going to get," she answered happily.

Once that confirmed, we walked around throughout the rest of the Wal Mart store. We checked out the entertainment section and got a new music CD, then we got a new issue of Model Railroader from the magazine section, then we got some bottles of Coca-Cola, then Kaede got some new dresses and lastly I got myself a couple of T-Shirts.

After we payed for our stuff, we headed off back to the motel at around the time Nerine and Daryl were ready to buy the stuff they wanted to get.

Kaede and I spent most of the day just checking out the sights around New Liskard, and yes we did see another train go by at noon.

When we returned to the motel, we were greeted by - a zombie, "brains, I need brains," it said.

Kaede didn't look terrified and neither did I, "Hi Sia," I called.

"What?" she exclaimed, "how did you know it was me?" But before we could say anything, she said, "don't tell me, it was my voice wasn't it?"

"That and you said to us before that you were going to dress up as a zombie."

"Oh," she said meekily.

It was then that Dave came walking up, he was dressed like 'Zorro', "hey Sia," he said, she looked at him confused, "you told me you were going to be zombie just night remember?"

"Yeah, I guess I just forgot."

"Nah that's okay," he smiled.

I then felt someone slap me on the back, it was of course Lisa, "hey Lisa," I groaned as I got to my feet, "nice costume by the way, what are you suppose to be?"

"What else? A Pirate," she giggled.

"You're always dressing up like a pirate, why?"

"I don't know, I just like it - oh and Max and Monty told me to tell you they're not going to get back at you for the halloween prank we pulled on them last year."

"Sure they're not," I said sarcastically, I knew they were lying.

Mostly all of our friends were dressing up for Halloween this year, the only ones who weren't dressing up, other than myself, was Rin and Kikyou.

At around four that afternoon, I was working underneath the truck.

Naomi was sneaking around, thinking she was finally going to get me. She was about to yell 'boo!' but she never did because..."don't even think about it Little Sis!" I called.

"Oh for crying out loud!" she cried, "how do you always know when I'm about to scare you?"

"I'm always thinking one step ahead of you Little Sis, so I know when you're going to pull one of your tricks again - plus you're not very good at sneaking up on people."

"Really? Cause I snuck up on you a few times in the past."

"Okay you got me there, but I meant nowadays - I know you all too well Little Sis. Tell me though, are you wearing a halloween costume?"

"Ah no not yet, I can't decide on what I want to be."

While I was talking with Naomi, I saw the twins - Max and Monty walking past the truck and over to my room, "yep, I knew they would come up with some something sneaky sooner or later," I thought to myself.

They knocked on the door quietly and Kaede let them in, they said they had something special for me.

"...what do you think I should be today?" Naomi asked me, breaking me out of my train of thought.

"Well I think you should dress up as a witch."

"Yeah I could - yeah that's what I'm going to dress as...ah excuse me Big Bro, I'm going out shopping with Yukie and Shiori, I'll see you later," with that said, she ran off to where Yukie and Shiori were.

"Little Sis as a witch," I chuckled to myself, "Well it makes sense considering they both like playing tricks."

After I was done working on my truck, I came back into the motel room, "Max and Monty left something here for you," she said to me, "they said it was pop."

"Yeah right," I chuckled as I walked over to the counter. What they left was a bottle with no label on it, "oh those sneaks - well, it's not going to work..." I looked over to the bottles of coke we got, "I think I know how to foil their little prank..."

At around seven thirty, Kaede and I were working in the kitchen making spagetti and meatballs for our dinner tonight. So far we had a couple of trick and treaters come by, one was a monster and another was a princess.

"Trick or treat," three more kids said a few more minutes later.

"Here you go," I said kindly.

"Thank you," they all said and walked away. I then saw the twins and Naomi walking over. The boys were dressed like pirates too and Naomi did look like a witch.

I grabbed a bottle of coke from the sink (I had removed the label some time ago), then I walked back over to the doorway.

"Hi Matthew," said Max, "did you get our little gift?"

"Yes I did and I would like to say thank you very much for it," I smiled, "it was quite refreshing."

"You drank the whole thing?" asked Monty.

"Actually I'm still drinking it," to prove it, I pulled out the bottle from behind me and started drinking from it. The twins gasped when they saw me drink it (for the record, they used food coloring to change the color of the liquid that was in the bottle), "ahh, that's good."

I looked over to Kaede, she was trying her best not to laugh.

"Hey Big Bro, thanks for suggesting the witch costume," said Naomi, "everyone likes it."

"Well I'm glad I could help," I smiled, "now why don't you three come in, it's getting a little chilly out here," I shivered. They agreed and followed me inside.

"Are you sure you drank the soda we left behind for you?" Max asked.

"Yes, I drank your drink," I said with a sly grin.

"There's no way you could drink that stuff like soda," Monty protested as Naomi walked over to speak with Kaede.

"Oh and why is that?" I asked, I had no idea that Naomi had grabbed one of the bottles on the counter.

"Because that stuff was hot sauce!"

"Monty!" snapped Max.

"Hot sauce huh? Yeah I had a feeling you boys would try to get back at me for that trick I pulled on you last year. Too bad your plan didn't work out quite like you hoped huh?"

"But you drank the hot sauce!" exclaimed Monty.

"No I didn't," I chuckled, "Show him Kaede."

Kaede pulled out the coca-cola label of the pocket of her apron and showed it to the boys.

"I removed one of the labels off one of the coke bottles earlier today. I wanted you boys to think I was drinking the hot sauce," I chuckled.

"Hold on a second," said Max, "if that's not the bottle with the hot sauce in it, then where is it?"

"Ah Big Bro," I turned around and looked over to Naomi, "this stuff is really hot. I think_ I _drank the hot sauce - I thought it was soda!" she cried, "my mouth feels like it's on fire!"

"I'll get you some milk Naomi," said Kaede. She got the milk out of the small fridge and poured some into a glass, then she gave it to Naomi.

"Can you make up your mind Little Sis?" I said, "you said you were going to be a witch, not a dragon." Max and Monty chuckled quietly.

"It's not funny," she groaned, "I thought it was soda."

I walked over to the counter and pulled out a bottle of soda (With the label on it), "here Little Sis, you can have this okay? Think of this as an apology for what _we_ did," as I said this, I was looking over to Max and Monty.

"We're sorry Naomi," they said in unison.

"It's okay," she said, "and thank you for giving me milk Kaede."

"You're welcome Naomi."

"It's better to drink milk than water if eat or _drink_ something hot or spicy," I said wisely, "water only makes it worse." Naomi and the twins silently agreed with me.

Throughout the rest of the night, not one of us played anymore halloween pranks. We had tonnes of trick or treaters come by, some of the costumes were adorable, both Kaede and I often said that when we saw them.

By nine thirty, there was hardly any candy in the bowl, 3/4 of it had been given out.

"Matthew, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Kaede, what is it?"

"When was the last time you ever went trick or treating?"

"Hmm...probably when I was ten years old, that was the last time I ever did that - lots of people said I looked adorable in whatever costume I wore."

"Why didn't you go out when you were eleven?"

"Well - it has a lot to do with my parents, my mother mostly, she thought it was a waste of time to walk around like an idiot, as she said it, asking for candy, so she made a curfew for me for that year."

"'That's terrible."

"Yeah I know," I sighed, "the next year though, the curfew was off, but I was told that I was _not_ allowed to go trick or treating. So I hung out with my friends at their places, either giving out candies to kids or going over to a Halloween party, but that didn't last long as I have told you why."

"Yeah, you told me that on the chatroom."

"Correct Kaede, so," I sighed again, "I stayed home on Halloween night, just listening to music or watching movies in the dark."

We were quiet for a while until I broke the silence again, "I never had a good time after my friends betrayed me, truth be told I started hating Halloween."

"Do you hate it now?" Kaede asked as she reached out for my left hand.

"No, I don't hate it now, I enjoy it," I said as I grabbed her hand, "especially if I get to spend the day with you Kaede, my queen."

Kaede just blushed again, we closed our eyes, our lips came closer to each other, then - we kissed on the lips. We kissed for a minute and a half, then after our kiss I asked Kaede, "would you like to dance with me my queen?"

"I love to, my king," she said with a smile on her face.

I plugged the speakers to my Ipod, then I picked out the song Kaede likes - You'll Be In My Heart by Celine Dion. I kept the volume down as I didn't want to distrub our neighbours, but loud enough for Kaede and I to hear.

As we danced, as you can guess, Kaede and I often small portions of the song quietly. We danced until the song was done, then Kaede stood up on her toes and kissed me on the lips for the second time that night.

After our kiss, we heard some knocks at the door.

"More trick or treaters?" Kaede asked.

"Nope, it's Daisy and she's with Monty," I said as I looked through the 'peep' hole in the door, "You guys can come in," I called to them as I opened the door.

Daisy walked in, followed by Monty, "so what have you two been up to?" I asked.

"We've been giving out candies to all the trick or treaters," Daisy answered, "those kids were so adorable in their little costumes."

"One of those kids said that Daisy looked cute in her princess outfit too," said Monty, "and I have to agree with that kid, Daisy does look cute in that costume, don't you think so?"

Both Kaede and I nodded in agreement.

"Thanks you guys," she smiled and then sighed, "you know want to know something? Before I was adopted into the Gagnon family, there were some years where I got to spend halloween with a family and as for the others - I was always on my own."

"Well you're not alone now," Monty said kindly, "you've got all of us after all."

"That's right," I said while nodding in agreement.

"I know that, thank you," she smiled.

Monty and Daisy stayed around for a little while talking with us until around ten when they left for their room, but before they left, Kaede and I gave them some candy.

After they left, Kaede got changed into her pajamas in the washroom while I got changed in our room. Once we were in our pajamas, we layed down side by side on the bed, watching some 'Home Improvement' halloween episodes until we grew tired and went off to sleep.


	15. Snowy Day in New Liskard

Hey there everyone, it's ThomasZoey3000 here with the latest installment of 'Our Kinda Trip'. Most of the ideas of this chapter are deeply inspired by my most recent trip back to New Liskard. Now I'll admit that I had a difficult time writing up this chapter, which is why it's taken me a while to write it up. Originally, I had an idea to have 'Matthew's' parents come into the story, but I decided not to have them come in - don't worry though, they'll be seen again in more future episodes. Anyhow, this chapter is rated PG as always with no swearing whatsoever. Enjoy!

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 15: Snowy Day in New Liskard**_

At around five thirty in the morning on November 1st, I was waking up. I let out a huge yawn, then I looked down to Kaede, who was still sleeping. I know she likes getting up at around four thirty every morning, but we did go to bed late last night, hence why Kaede was still sleeping, so I decided to let her sleep. I then noticed she was shivering. I got up from the bed, being extra careful not to wake her up, then I grabbed the other blanket. I brought it back over to the bed, then I placed it of the other blanket. Kaede stopped shivering at once, she was as snug as a bug.

I didn't want to disturb her, so I got out my laptop and went onto the Sodor Island Forums for a bit (just for the record, we get wireless internet at the motel). Since none of my friends were online at the time, I decided to read a few of the new episode adaptations for a bit.

At around six, that's when Kaede woke up, "good morning sunshine," I said sweetly.

"Good morning Matthew," she said with a cute giggle, "how long have you been up?"

"I've been since five thirty," I answered. Kaede then noticed the extra blanket, "I saw you shivering earlier, so I grabbed the blanket from the other bed and placed it on top of the other blanket."

"Thank you Matthew, that was so sweet of you. Are you on the forums again?"

"Yep, but none of our friends are on right now, so I was just reading some episode adaptations for a bit," I answered, "hey Kaede, would you like me to make you breakfast this morning?"

"Yes please."

"Alright, so what would you like?"

"Ah...could we have Sasuage and potatoes?"

"Sure, we can have that," I said as I got up from the bed, "if you want to use my laptop for a bit, you can."

So while I got started on making breakfast, Kaede went onto several sites, some to find new recipes and another was for music, "do you mind if I play some music on your laptop?"

"I don't mind Kaede," I answered.

And so, Kaede played some tunes on the laptop like 'You Are My Everything' by '98 Degrees', 'Turn It Up (I Like the Sound of That)' by 'Aaron Lines' and 'Yours to Hold' by 'Skillet'.

Once breakfast had been made, I brought it over to Kaede, "it smells good," she said happily.

I was about to reply back to that when we heard a knock at the door, "Big Bro! Kaede! Come on out here, you're not going to believe this!" it was Little Sis calling out to us.

I walked over to the door while Kaede got out of the bed. I opened the door and gasped. Kaede gasped too, "it's snowing!"

Indeed it was snowing. At this time, Little Sis was making snow angels in the snow, "I've always wanted to do this!" she cried, "come out here Big Bro!"

"I would, except that I'm still in my pajamas," I called back to her.

"So what? I'm in my pajamas too, you don't hear me complaining!"

"Seriously, what is wrong with that kid?" I asked. I could hear Kaede giggling, but very quietly.

"It is a little cold though, maybe I should wait until I get changed," Naomi said while shivering, "I'm freezing out here."

"I did tell you to get changed before going outside," we heard Shiori say to her. Naomi hardly said a word. Kaede and I chuckled quietly as we went back into our room.

Later at around eight that morning, I was sitting on the bed watching a show called 'Canada's Worst Driver' while Kaede was getting changed. I was wearing a dark green Train T-Shirt, dark blue jeans, dark grey socks and my black sweater. Sitting at the doorway were my black boots (I hate those things for they are difficult to put on and they can be uncomfortable at times) and my black jacket.

A few minutes later, Kaede came out of the washroom and walked over to the bed, then she gave me another upside down kiss on the lips. She was wearing a dark yellow sweater, black skirt and light grey socks.

"Would you like to go the mall Kaede?"

"Yes," she answered with a happy nod, "I would love to go to the mall with you Matthew."

Kaede walked over to her suitcase to get her jacket and gloves while I went over to the doorway to get my boots. As you can imagine, I had one heck of a time trying to put them on.

Once we had our winter gear on, we walked out of the room, only to have cold wind blow into our faces.

"Brr," I shivered, "it's colder than it was earlier."

"You're not kidding," called another voice, Kaede and I looked to our left and saw who said that. It was Sia, she was wearing a dark blue jacket and a orange scraf around her neck, "you weren't kidding when you said that Canadian winters are cold."

"This isn't cold, just wait a couple more weeks and you'll know how cold Canadian winters are."

"You got to be kidding me."

"Afraid not Sia," said another voice, it was Dave as he came out of the room, wearing a white jacket, brown boots, black gloves and a dark blue touque on, "there are days you feel like you ice stuck up your nose."

"Yuck," Sia groaned.

"Sounds unbelivable, but it's quite true."

"It's worse if you have to wait for the bus for ten long minutes," I added, "so what are you two up to today?"

"We're going out on a double date with Daryl and Nerine, we're going to walk around the town of New Liskard," Sia answered, "we just don't know where to go. Do you have any suggestions Matthew?"

"Hmm, let's see...why not try the bowling alley, I think they open up at around this time."

"What about the movie theatre?" Kaede suggested.

"They don't open up until One P.M., but I would suggest going there after your bowling game."

"Sounds great, I haven't bowled in years," said Dave, "What do you think Sia? Do you want to bowl?"

"Well...I like to," she said while shivering, another blast of wind blew at them and us too. "I meant I love to."

They checked with Daryl and Nerine when they came out, then the four of them walked over to Nerine's car, then they drove off for the town. Once they had gone, Kaede and I got into the truck, then we headed off for the mall.

"So Kaede, is there any store in particular you wanted to go to today?"

"Well I was thinking on going into the Dollar-rama store, would that be okay?" she asked.

"Of course it's okay," I answered.

We soon pulled into the parking lot of the mall, then once I parked the truck, we walked in threw the middle enterance way. Kaede looked to her right as we came in...

"Aww," she said, "look at these kittens Matthew. Aren't they adorable?"

"They sure are," I smiled, "I wonder how Bridget is doing right now."

"I'm sure she's okay. Ms. Ama did promise us that she would take great care of Bridget while we were away."

"Yeah that's true. I know Ms. Ama will take care of Bridget, that's why we asked her," Kaede and I were staring into the windows of the pet shop and saw the little kittens looking up at us, "that orange one reminds me so much of Bridget when she was a kitten."

We then saw the kittens wresting with each other, they were pouncing on each other and chasing each other all around the cage. Kaede and I couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"What are you guys looking at?" asked another voice behind us. It was Yukie, along with her sister Shiori and our Little Sis.

"We're just watching the kittens playing," Kaede answered.

"How adorable," Shiori said as she stared at the kittens.

"You took the words out of my mouth sis," said Yukie with a smile on her face, "both Shiori and I love cats, we've always wanted a cat of our own, but our parents have said 'no' many times in the past."

"Well maybe they've changed their minds."

"Maybe, I guess we could call them later and see if we can get a cat."

"So what are you guys up to today?" I asked.

"Well let's see, I'm 5 foot 7 and Shiori is 5 foot 4," Yukie answered with a giggle, Kaede and I chuckled at hearing that, "seriously though, we're just walking around and checking out the mall and some of the other stores around New Liskard. And what about you two?"

"We're doing the same thing," Kaede answered, "we're going to go into the dollar-rama first, then we're going to check out some of the other stores in the town."

"Hey Big Bro," Naomi spoke up, "what type of cat is Makoto?"

"She's a tabby cat," I answered, "Why do you ask Little Sis?"

"I'm just being curious," she answered.

After our little conversations with Yukie, Shiori and Naomi, Kaede and I walked over to the store. It was a lot bigger than we had orginally thought. Anyhow, Kaede and I got a small cart and started walking around. As we were walking along, we accidently bumped into someone's else's cart.

"I'm so sorry," Kaede apologized, "we didn't run into you."

"Nah it's okay," said the other person, "these things happen."

I gasped when I heard that voice, "it couldn't be," I thought to myself, then I asked, "Margrett?"

The young woman looked over to me and gasped, (I gasped too), "Matthew...look at you, you've really grown since the last time I've seen you. What's it been? Seven years since we last spoke?"

"Yeah it has been seven years," I answered. Margrett is my cousin on my dad's side of the family, she has long brown hair (probably the same length as Sia and Nerine's hair), truth be told, she's almost at my height and she speaks with a heavy french accent.

Margrett then looked back over to Kaede, "is she your girlfriend?"

"Actually, I'm his wife," Kaede answered, "my name is Kaede Fuyou...ah, I mean Gagnon," she quickly corrected herself. Margrett had that shocked look on her face.

"To answer your question before you ask it," I said, "Kaede and I got married in September."

"You always know just what I'm going to say don't you?" Margrett asked with a smile on her face. I simply nodded, then she looked back over to Kaede, "Your name means Maple right?"

"That's right, my name does mean maple."

"I thought so," she said, then she looked down to her watch, "Oh geez, I got to get going, I promised a friend of mine that I would babysit their kid. Maybe we can meet up again later, would that be okay?"

"Yeah it would be great," Kaede and I answered in unison.

"Great minds think alike," Kaede giggled, I chuckled when I heard that.

Margrett giggled too, then she looked over to me, "do you remember where I live Matthew?" she asked, I nodded my head, "okay then, I'll see you two later." Then she walked off for the counter.

"Seven years, I can't believe it's been that long since I last saw my cousin," I said quietly.

After we were done shopping, we decided to go to the town of New Liskard. As we were walking out, Kaede slipped on a patch of ice - lucky for her that I caught her as she fell back.

"I got you Kaede."

"Thank you Matthew, I always feel safe around you."

Kaede and I walked carefully towards the truck, just to be on the safe side. The moment we got in, I heard my cellphone ring (if you're wondering of when I got that cellphone, Kaede gave me the phone just before we went to Pennsylvania back in August).

"Hey Big Bro? Where are you and Kaede?"

"We're just getting into the truck right now, why do you ask Little Sis?"

"I'm just wondering if you two would like to join on a little snowball we got going on out here...whoa!" she cried, "that was close, one of Asa's snowballs nearly hit me."

A second later, I heard something hit, "she got you didn't she?"

"Yep," Naomi groaned, "so can you guys join in?"

"Ah not right now, but maybe a little later okay?"

"Yeah sure," Naomi groaned, "whew that was another close call," then we heard her cry, "hey Asa, you throw like a girl!"

"She is a girl!" we heard Primula call.

"Oh right, my bad - ah, talk to you later Big Bro." She then hung up before I could say another word.

"What is Naomi doing?" Kaede asked.

"She's involved in a huge snowball fight - and if I had to guess, it's just outside of the motel. Now, you said before that you wanted to check out that Giant Tiger store am I right?"

"Yes I did say that."

"Do you still want to check that store out?"

"Yes, I would," she nodded.

With that confirmed, and after I had started the motor of the truck, we drove off for the town once again.

There were hardly any parking spots in the parking lot of the Giant Tiger store, so we had to park at the far end of the lot. Both Kaede and I shivered as we walked up to the doorways - boy were we glad to get inside, where it was nice and warm. We looked in the clothing section first, where Kaede found a cute pink shirt and I found a dark blue sweater.

Next, we looked at the movies on sale, "Look at this Matthew," Kaede cried out to me, "I found the Corner Gas Season 2 & 3 DVDs."

"Good find there Kaede," I smiled, she smiled back to me.

So we got those two DVDs, along with the clothes we picked out, then after we bought those items, we headed off to Margett's house, which wasn't too far away from the Giant Tiger store (it's only three blocks away with a great view of the Ontario Northland Railway in the backyard).

"Did you have trouble finding my house?" Margrett asked us when we arrived.

"Nope, we had no trouble at all," I answered, "I thought you said that you had to babysit."

"I am, the kid I'm looking after is in the kitchen eating a snack."

Kaede and I took off our winter gear and put them in the closet just outside of the living room in the enterance way. Then Margrett lead us into the living room, "not much has changed since the last time you were here Matthew," Margrett said to me, "besides the fact I had to replace the old TV, it blew out on me one evening."

"It's definetly bigger than your old television, how old was your old TV?"

"Ah...you know, I've forgotten how old it was," answered Margrett, then she looked over to Kaede, "I don't know how many times you've heard this, but I just love the color of your hair - I've actually wanted to dye my hair orange, but I can never get the right shade. Was your hair color always orange?"

"Yes," Kaede nodded, "I've always had orange hair even when I was a little girl."

Margrett then gave Kaede and I a little tour of her house, then we went back to the living room to talk for a bit, "would you two like some hot chocolate?" Margrett asked us.

"Yes please," Kaede and I answered in unison.

"Okay then, just give me a couple of minutes..." then we heard a small crash, "uh oh, the kid spilled his milk. I'll be right back."

After a couple of minutes, Margrett came out with three mugs of hot chocolate, then she went back into the kitchen to get some potato chips (sour cream and onion flavour). The young boy she was looking after came into the living room and started with some of the toys Margrett had in her toy chest.

"You still like Sour Cream and Onion chips right Matthew?"

"Yep, I still like those kinds of chips," I answered.

"Then it's a good thing I got these," Margrett smiled, "remember when we were younger and my parents got us the wrong flavor of chips?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that," I chuckled as Margrett placed the bowl of chips on the table.

"You have a very beautiful house Margrett," Kaede said kindly.

"Well thank you Kaede," Margrett smiled as she sat down on the second couch in the living room, "so tell me Matthew," she said while looking at me, "how did you and Kaede meet?"

And so, Kaede and I told the story of how we met, then we told the story of when I was disowned and fired, then Kaede inviting me to move in with her, then how we became a couple and...well, I think you know how the story goes. (Of course, she did say "you poor soul" after I told the story of me being disowned and fired).

"Where are your parents Margrett?" Kaede asked.

"They moved out a couple of years ago and left me the house, but they waited until I had a good job before leaving."

"Where did they move to?" I asked.

"They moved to North Bay, they said they wanted to open up a new business there. Last I heard from them, they are doing quite well - in fact, they're kept busy every single day as lots of people want to shop at their store."

"That's good to know," I said with a smile, then we heard a diesel horn.

"Ah, sounds like one of the Northlanders are coming threw," said Margrett as she walked over to the little boy and picked him up, "you can get a great view of the train from the back porch." And so, she lead Kaede and I to the back porch - just in time to see the Northlander (passenger train) passing by. We watched the train roll past with two diesels on the front of the train and five passenger coaches behind them.

"Was this the house you were telling me about?" Kaede asked, "where you used to wait for the trains to go by?"

"No it wasn't this house - it was on another street."

"But we did see a few trains when we used to play out here," said Margrett, "do you remember that Matthew?" I nodded my head, I did remember that.

Once the train had rumbled out of sight, we walked over back to the living room.

Kaede and I spent a few hours talking with Margrett, until around four thirty (and if you're wondering about the little boy, his parents came by to pick him up at around two), "it was nice to see you again Matthew," Margrett said to me, "and Kaede, it was nice to meet you. I hope we can meet up again before you guys head off for Toronto."

"Oh I'm sure we will," I smiled, "after all, we are here for another week and a half, so you'll be seeing us alot."

"Yeah and maybe next time I can meet your sisters."

"I'm sure they would love to meet you," said Kaede kindly.

We said our goodbyes and thank yous to Margrett for inviting us over, then we headed off back to the truck, just as more snow started to come down.

When we reached the motel, we found Naomi, Daisy and Monty standing behind their snowfort while dozens of snowballs were being thrown at them by: Asa, Rin, Emily and Ryan.

"Are you going to help us?" Naomi cried out loud to us.

"You bet," I called, "we're coming!"

Kaede and I ran over to their snowfort, picked up some snow and rolled them into snowballs, then we threw them. Some of them smacked Rin and Ryan in the face, while only a few hit Emily and Asa.

"You better give up!" called Naomi, "the Calvary has arrived!"

"We won't back down!" called Asa and Rin in unison. Next thing we knew, all four of them were throwing tonnes of snowballs at us. I got hit and so did Naomi and Monty, but not Kaede and Daisy - mostly because I blocked the snowballs from hitting Kaede while Monty blocked the snowballs from hitting Daisy.

The snowball battle was fierce, I will admit that, but after ten more minutes of snowball fighting, they shouted out, "we surrender!"

"YES!" cheered Naomi, "We won! We won! Whew, that was exciting!"

"You said it best Little Sis," I said while trying to catch my breath.

After wiping all the snow off of us, we all walked back into our rooms to warm up.


	16. Coming Down with the Flu

Yep, the Our Kinda Trip series finally continues. This chapter continues right where we left off with the last chapter, right after the snowball fight. This chapter is partly based on what happened during my second visit to New Liskard last year in 2011. Now as a reminder, this series is rated PG with no swearing whatsoever. Anyways, I hope you will all enjoy the long awaited return of...

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 16: Coming Down With The Flu**_

After the snowball fight, Kaede and I got changed into our swimsuits, then we headed off to the pool area to sit in the hot tub for a while before going out to get something to eat. Although there were alot of people using the hot tub when we got in, "makes sense considering how cold it is outside," I said, "looks like we're in for a long wait."

"You can say that again," called another voice from behind us. It was Yukie, she was with her baby sister Shiori, "We've been waiting for quite a while to get into the hot tub, but no sooner do those people get out, then more people go in to use it."

"It's okay though," said Shiori, who was already in the pool, "the water is nice and warm in here too, it's great!"

"Oh what the heck," giggled Yukie, "I'm coming in too, I don't want to sit around here waiting for that hot tub." She walked over to the deep end of the pool, then she jumped in - she came up a few seconds later.

"How's the water Yukie?" Kaede asked.

"It's great, you two should come in!"

"It's up to you Kaede, what do you want to do?" I asked.

"Swim in the pool," she answered as she grabbed my hand. With that confirmed, Kaede and I walked into the pool while still holding hands, then we started swimming around the shallow end. As for Yukie and Shiori, they were swimming at the deep end of the pool, "Shiori was right, the water is nice and warm."

"Yeah it is," I smiled. I looked back over to the hot tub, I could see people getting out and even more were getting in, "Yukie wasn't kidding."

Since that hot tub was full once again, Kaede and I stayed in the pool for about twenty minutes, swimming back and forth from the shallow end to the deep end and back. As for Yukie and Shiori, they would do either a few laps around the deep end of the pool or jumping into the pool just for fun.

"Wow that was fun," I said while catching my breath, "So Kaede, what would you like to have for dinner tonight?"

Kaede didn't answer just yet, she thought about it and then answered my question, "how about Pizza, would that be okay?"

"Of course it is," I smiled, "we can get Pizza tonight, and I think I know where to get it..."

After we got back to our room and after getting changed, Kaede and I headed off to the 'Pizza Pizza' place in the town of New Liskard. As we arrived, we found that there were a lot of cars parked outside of the Pizza Pizza place, so we had to park in the Giant Tiger parking lot again and walk over to the pizzeria.

Just before we got in, I slipped on a small patch of ice. I would've fallen on my back, had it not been for Kaede, "I got you Matthew!" and sure enough she did, she caught me before I fell.

"Thanks Kaede," I sighed.

"I'm so sorry about that," said one of the employees. He had seen me slip and ran out to see if I was okay, "I thought I had taken care of that patch of ice earlier, you're not hurt are you?"

"No I'm okay, thanks to my wife," I answered, "thanks again Kaede."

"You're welcome Matthew."

The employee apologized to us once again, then he went to work placing salt on the stairwell. When he was done, Kaede and I followed him inside to get our pizza, "this place has gotten bigger since the last time I was in here," I said.

"When was the last time you came into this pizzeria?" Kaede asked.

"The last time I came in here was back in 2003, as I remember it, this place was half the size it is now. Now, what kinda pizza you would like to order?"

"Pepperoni and Cheese," Kaede answered.

"Very well then, that's what we'll get." We walked up to the counter and ordered what we wanted, "and we also like two bottles of coke please," I said to the person behind the counter.

"Alright then," said the employee, "will that everything?" Kaede and I nodded our heads at the same time, "very well then, your pizza will be ready in a few minutes."

So while we waited, Kaede and I sat down at one of the tables taking sips of our drinks.

"You know Kaede, when I was in elementary school on every single Friday, we would always have 'pizza Fridays'. Now can you guess where the pizza came from?"

"Ah...Pizza Pizza?"

"Correct," I smiled, "that is where the Pizza came from. We also used to get donuts and a bottle of pop too, it was actually a nice change from what I used to have all the time."

"Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwichs right? You told me that once on the chatroom."

"Well you are right Kaede, I did use to have Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwhichs everyday when I was in elementary school - at least until I got into grade seven. Someone reported that they 'nut' allergies, so I had to bring in Cheese Sandwichs after that, it was okay once and a while, but..."

"It does get boring having the same lunch every single day right?"

"Yeah that's it excatly," I said, "they do get boring if I have it every single day. So it's no wonder why I was always looking forward to having pizza on Fridays, it made a nice change every now and then."

After a few more minutes, our pizza was finally ready for us, "have a nice evening," the employee behind the counter said to us, "enjoy your pizza."

"We will," Kaede and I said in unison.

This time, neither one of us slipped on the ice, but we were shivering while the wind blew in our faces as we walked over to the truck.

After we got the pizza box into the back seat, Kaede and I drove on back to the motel where our warm room awaited us. Just as we got in, we heard someone knocking at our other door, Kaede went to answer it and found Yukie on the other side.

"Hi Yukie, did you have a good swim?"

"Oh yeah I did and so did Shiori," she answered, "now the reason I came over is to tell you that Naomi might coming down with a cold."

"It makes sense since that silly little girl was playing in the snow while she was wearing her pajamas," I said, "and then there was that intense snowball fight - she wasn't dressed properly was she?"

"Afraid not, she walked out without her gloves, scraf or boots," Yukie answered.

"I knew it," I muttered, "is she sniffling, coughing or losing her voice?"

"Well she is sneezing alot and coughing every now and then..." she felt someone tap her on her left shoulder, she looked down behind her and saw Shiori standing there. Her baby sister said something to her, then Yukie looked back over to us, "Shiori just said that Naomi is now losing her voice."

"Sounds like she might be coming down with the flu," said Kaede, "make sure she stays in bed and stays warm okay?"

"Sure thing Kaede, Shiori and I will take care of her."

"We promise," added Shiori.

Before we ate the pizza, we went with Yukie and Shiori to their room. When we got in, we found Naomi resting in one of the beds. Her cheeks were red and she was coughing, "hey you two," she said weakily, "I'm not feeling too good right now."

"So we were told," I said. I walked over towards her and placed my hand on her forehead, "boy you sure got a high fever, I think you might have to stay in bed for a couple of days."

"A couple of days?" she exclaimed, "but that's not fair! I don't want to be stuck in bed while we're on this big trip," she was starting to cry.

"We know that Little Sis, but it's for your own good, you don't get any rest and stay warm, then you'll never get better."

"I guess so," Naomi sighed unhappily.

"Once you're better though," I said kindly, "you can go out and have fun again either exploring the town or fighting in snowball wars, now won't that be great?"

"Yeah that would be..." she coughed, "great. I guess I should stay in bed, but I'm going to awfully lonely without someone to talk to."

"What are we? Chopped Liver?" Yukie chuckled, "we'll stay in with you okay?"

"If you need anything, just ask us okay?" said Shiori. Naomi nodded her head, "we're your friends Naomi, we would never turn our backs on someone when they need our help."

"You two mean that?"

"Of course we do," smiled Yukie.

"Thank you, you two are the best friends a girl like me could ask for..." she looked over to Kaede and myself, "and you guys are..." she coughed, "...the best family I could ever ask for. Thank you again."

"You're welcome Naomi," Kaede said kindly.

"Like Shiori and I said before," said Yukie, "we'll take care of her, you guys can go back to your room and eat that pizza you got before it gets cold."

"Okay," I nodded, "get a good night's rest Little Sis."

"I'll try," she coughed again, "it's not going to be easy though. I'll see you two tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Kaede and I said in unison. Kaede walked out first, then I followed her out, closing the door behind me, then we headed off back to our room.

After getting back to our room, Kaede and I got changed into our pajamas, then we climbed into bed and started eating the pizza while watching several shows like 'Canada's Worst Driver', (the show I was watching earlier today) and 'Canada's Worst Handyman'. After we were done eating, I took the box over to the counter, then I climbed back into bed and cuddled up with Kaede.

At around ten, we grew so tired that we closed our eyes and went off to sleep.

At around six the next morning (November 2nd 2010), Kaede and I were still sleeping when we heard someone knocking on our door, "who could that be?" I asked sleepily.

"Matthew! Kaede!" It was Shiori's voice.

Kaede and I got up from the bed and walked over towards the door, "what's going on Shiori?" I asked after opening the door.

"It's Naomi, she's throwing up!"

As soon as we heard that, Kaede and I grabbed our housecoats and put them on while we followed Shiori to her room. Before she opened the door, we could hear the sound of someone throwing up. Shiori unlocked the door, then both Kaede and I followed her into the room - just in time to see our Little Sis throwing up into the garbage can.

"How long has she been throwing up?" Kaede asked.

"Ah one minute already," Yukie answered, "I think, I'm not sure."

"Yeah it's been one minute," said Shiori.

Poor Naomi was panting heavily, "yuck," she groaned before throwing up again.

"I think that's the last of it," said Yukie, "Shiori you might want to get the bucket out of the bathroom just to be on the safe side. I'm going to empty this one out."

"Sure thing Yukie," said Shiori and she ran off to the washroom. She came back with the other bucket and gave it to Naomi, who was still panting after throwing up.

"You okay now Naomi?" Kaede asked kindly.

"I think so," she panted, "I'm not going to throw up again - I just feel so terrible today."

Shiori felt her forehead, "yeah your fever is definetly high now, you'll need to get plenty of rest today and we can always get you some soup from the local 'Tim Hortons'."

"Actually Shiori," Kaede spoke up, "we'll make the soup for her."

"Oh no you guys don't have to that for me," groaned Naomi, "I don't want to be a burden to you two, you should go out and have fun..."

"It's okay Little Sis," I said kindly, "we don't mind staying in and looking after you, that's what family does - we look out for each other and when one of us is sick, we help them to get better, right Kaede?"

"That's right Matthew," she answered happily.

"And besides, you're not being a burden to us okay?"

"Okay...if you're sure."

"We're sure," I nodded.

"Thank you."

So at around eight thirty, Kaede and I went out to the 'Food Basics' grogery store in the mall, luckily for us it was open at this time (come to think of it, all the stores were opening at this time). The first thing we got were several packages of 'Lipton's Chicken Noodle soup', and then we got some ginger ale.

"We should also get the cold medicine," said Kaede.

"Already on it," I said as I grabbed a bottle of cold medicine, "grape flavor, I hope Little Sis doesn't mind this one."

"I'm sure she won't mind."

Once we got the stuff we needed, we headed off back to the motel room. When we arrived, I went over to Yukie and Shiori's room to check on Little Sis, "has she thrown up again?"

"No she hasn't," Yukie answered, "she's actually been sleeping ever since you guys went out."

I looked over to Naomi's bed and saw that she was fast asleep with a few blankets on top of her, "well at least she's getting some sleep, that'll help her get better."

We heard a quiet knock on the door. Shiori went to answer it, Kaede was on the other side of the door and she wasn't alone, Primula and Max were with her too.

"Kaede told me that Little Sis threw up this morning," said Primula, "how is she doing now?"

"She's okay," Shiori whispered, "as my big sister just told Matthew, Naomi hasn't thrown up in a while, she's actually been sleeping for a couple of hours now."

"Actually I'm awake now," we heard her say weakily.

"Hey Little Sis, how do you feel?"

"I feel lousy Big Sis, although I don't feel as bad as I did earlier."

"Yeah I heard you threw up earlier," Primula placed her left hand over Naomi's forehead, "you definetly have a high fever. Maybe I should make you some of my special medicine."

"You can make medicine Rimu?" Yukie asked in surprise.

"Yes I can, I've always known how to make medicine. It takes a lot of work to make, but it does work, right Kaede?"

"That's right Rimu," Kaede nodded.

"That would be great if you could make that medicine for me," Naomi groaned, her voice sounded really scratchy at this time. She looked over to Kaede, "is that soup you got there Kaede?"

"Yes it is Naomi, chicken noddle soup and grape flavoured cold medicine."

"Yuck," muttered Max, "I've tasted grape flavoured cold medicine and it's got a real bad taste to it."

"Maybe so, but it works very well," I whispered to him, "I should know considering I used to get sick four to five times every winter and everytime I got sick, I used that stuff to help me get better."

We both looked over to Naomi, who was showing a sour look on her face, "yuck," groaned Naomi.

"Yep, same old bad taste as before," Max chuckled quietly.

Next, Kaede poured some soup into a bowl and handed it over to Naomi, "hey Naomi," called Yukie, "would you like to watch some TV for a bit?"

"Yes I would," Naomi nodded.

"Very well," she said as she turned on the TV and changed it over to the guide channel.

Less than a minute later, Naomi suggested, "why don't we watch Canada's Worst Driver for a while?" She didn't need to ask that question a second time, Yukie changed the channel over to 'Canada's Worst Driver' Season 6.

"We were watching this last night too," said Shiori, "I think Naomi's getting interested into this series."

Naomi giggled weakily, but then started to cough a few times, "I'm okay," she panted quietly, "but you are right Shiori, I am starting to get interested into this show."

"Oh and Naomi," said Kaede, "I placed an ice cube in your soup to help it cool down."

"Thanks Kaede," she picked up some soup with her spoon and took a sip of it, "Hmm, it's delicous, thanks again."

"You're welcome."

Naomi had two bowls of chicken noodle soup, then after her second bowl, she layed back down and went to sleep, "get well soon Little Sis," Primula whispered as she tugged Naomi in again and Yukie turned down the volume of the TV so that we wouldn't distrub her.

"Hey Yukie, Shiori," I whispered, "you two can go out if you want to, we'll take of Little Sis."

"That's kind of you to offer Matthew, but I think Shiori and I will stick around here and help Naomi get better. She's like a little sister to us and we wouldn't dare leave someone when they need us the most."

"Yukie's right," Shiori said in agreement, "so thanks, but no thanks."

"Alright then," I smiled.

And so, the six of us stayed in that room just watching over Naomi and making sure she was okay. Kaede went back to our room at around noon to make some more soup. When she came back, Naomi spoke up, "you guys must be getting hungry by now," Naomi groaned, "You should really get something to eat, I don't want you guys going hungry just because of me."

"Now that you mention it Naomi," said Max, "I am feeling a little hungry."

"So am I," added Primula.

"Well if you guys want, I can always go into town and get us something to eat," I said, "just tell me what you would like and I'll get it for you."

And that's just what I did, once everyone told me of what they would like, I headed off to get the food. I returned quite soon with several different orders. Primula and Max wanted chicken from the KFC resturant while the rest of us had cheeseburgers either from Harvey's or McDonald's.

"Boy it all smells good," groaned Naomi, "I wish I could have a bite of one of those burgers, but I can't unless I want to throw up."

"Tell you what Little Sis," I said as I sat down next to her, "When you're feeling better, I'll take you to McDonald's and I'll buy you a couple of burgers, would you like that?"

"Yes, I would like that," she nodded before letting out a big yawn. She closed her eyes and went off to sleep again.

"Sweet dreams Naomi," I whispered quietly to her.

I carefully got up from the bed and walked back over to the counter where the food was, "thanks for bringing the food Matthew," said Yukie, "I promise you I'll repay you back someday."

"Oh but you already are repaying us Yukie," I said, she looked at me confused, "just by looking after our Little Sis and helping her get better. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she smiled.

Throughout the rest of the day, we kept an eye on Naomi. Making sure she stayed warm under the blankets, drank plenty of liquids and got plenty of sleep. At around six thirty, I was feeling her forehead again, "well you're still a little warm," I said, "but not as warm as before, so you'll probably be out of bed before tomorrow night."

"That would be great," Naomi smiled, she let out another yawn, "now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep for a bit. You guys can go out to dinner, I don't think I'm going to throw up again."

"Well if you're sure..."

"Positive, you guys go and have a good time," she closed her eyes and went off to sleep.

"You guys can go," said Primula, "I'll stay behind with Little Sis and keep her company." Max also agreed to stay behind to watch over Naomi and we promised to bring them something from the resturant, "have a good time."

"We will," Kaede and I said in unison. The four of us walked slowly out of the room, got into my truck and then headed off to the 'Steak Villa Resturant' in the mall.


	17. Night Out With Friends

Well my friends, I'm proud to present the next episode of the 'Our Kinda Trip' series. Again, I ran out of ideas for this series during the New Liskard portion of the story, but now I have more than enough ideas for this and the next selection of episodes. In this chapter, Matthew and Kaede hang out with Patrick, Ryan, Lisa and Emily - deeply inspired by one of the night outs with my friends. Like always, the rating is PG for no swearing at all. Also the date of this chapter continues on November 2nd 2010 and now here's the 17th chapter of...

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 17: Night Out With Friends**_

Two and a half minutes later, we arrived at the mall, climbed out of the truck and walked over to the resturant. "Hello there," said the waitress, "is it just the four of you?" Kaede and I nodded our heads, "very well then, follow me."

The four of us followed the waitress to a table near to the enterance of the kitchen. Being a gentleman, I pulled out Kaede's chair and pushed it in slowly as she was sitting down.

"Lot of boys we know could learn a few things from Matthew," Yukie whispered to Shiori, who giggled very quietly.

"Here are your menus," said the waitress, "I'll be back in a couple of minutes to get your orders." Then she walked away.

"What are you going to have Sis?" Shiori asked.

"Hmm, I don't know," she said as she looked at the menu, "I can't make up my mind of what I'm going to eat. What are you two going to have?"

"I'm going to have the spagetti and meatballs," Kaede answered, "and I think Matthew will have the same thing. Am I right Matthew?"

"Yep," I nodded while chucking a bit, "that is what I am going to order. Are you reading my mind Kaede?" She just giggled while shaking her head. It wasn't long before Yukie decided on what she was going to have to eat - she was going to order a chicken dinner with a salad to start. As for Shiori, she was going to order spagetti too, but with different sauce than what Kaede and I were asking for and with no meatballs.

When our waitress came back, we told her of what we would like to have and what we would like to drink, "okay then, will this be on one bill or two?"

"Just one," I said, "this meal is on me."

"Oh no Matthew you don't have to do that, you bought our lunches remember? We owe you this time, it will be on one check and I'll be paying for it," she said to the waitress.

"Very well then," said the waitress, "I'll be in a minute with your drinks."

Once the waitress had left, Yukie looked back over to me, "I'm serious Matthew, we will pay for both your meals this time okay?"

"Well okay, if you're sure."

"Yes I'm sure," she nodded. Shiori nodded in agreement with her big sister.

So after we were done eating, Yukie went up to the cashier to pay for our meals while the three of us waited outside for her. As we waited for her, I felt someone slap me hard on the back - which knocked me down onto my knees.

"Lisa," I groaned.

"Good guess Matthew," she giggled, "now how did you know it was me?"

"Well let's see - you're the only person I know who slaps me on the back."

"Not true, what about Asa Shigure?"

"She only slaps Rin on the back," said Kaede, "you're the only person we know that ever slaps Matthew on the back."

Getting to my feet again, I heard some faint chucking from nearby. I looked to the source of the chuckles and found Patrick and Ryan standing close by. They weren't alone as Emily was with them too.

"Nice to see some things haven't changed," Patrick chuckled, "Matthew still likes eating spagetti and he's still getting slapped on the back by Lisa."

Shiori stared at them with a nervous look on her face and backed up slowly - right into Yukie, "where are you going Shiori?" she asked. Her little sister looked to her, still looking worried.

"Is your sister okay?" Emily asked.

"She's probably scared of us," said Ryan, "being a close friend to Matthew's red headed sister..."

"Naomi," I spoke up, "her name is Naomi."

"Right Naomi," he said, "as I was saying, being a close friend to Naomi, she must've heard all about what we tried to do to Matthew and Kaede..."

"And what we did to Kaede on that July evening," added Patrick. He looked over to Shiori, "you can relax young lady, Ryan and I are not like that anymore."

"We have learned the errors of our ways and now we're doing all we can to make it up to everyone - including Matthew and Kaede."

"At least you guys are saying her name correctly," muttered Lisa, "unlike some people I could mention."

"J...just give me some time," Shiori said nervously, "I...I...I need some time before I can fully trust you."

"Sure thing ah..."

"Her name is Shiori," Yukie spoke up this time, "and I'm her sister Yukie."

"Well it's nice to meet you both," Patrick said kindly, "and Shiori, and it's okay if you need some time to trust us, we understand completely. After all, what we did is unthinkable and completely stupid."

"Speaking of your little sister," Ryan spoke up while looking over to Kaede and myself, "where is she and your other two sisters?"

"Naomi isn't feeling well," Kaede answered this time, "she came down with a nasty flu. Rimu and her boyfriend Max are with her right now looking after her."

"As for Daisy, I think she's back at the motel swimming in the pool," I answered.

"Poor kid," said Patrick, "how did Naomi get the flu?" We told him about her constant snowball fights and not being dressed up properly, "well that explains alot. Change of subject here, are you two going to be busy tomorrow evening?" he asked Kaede and myself. We both shook our heads, "in that case, why don't you join the four of us for a bowling game?"

"Bowling huh? Well I guess it would be okay, what do you say to that Kaede? Would you like to bowl tomorrow night?"

Kaede thought about it, then she gave her answer with a smile on her face, "yes, I would like to bowl tomorrow night," she nodded.

"Then it's settled, we'll meet up with you two at the bowling alley at around seven tomorrow night. What about you two?" Patrick asked Yukie and Shiori, "do you want to join us?"

"It's sweet of you to offer, but both Shiori and I might not be able to come along if Naomi is still sick."

"Oh okay," he looked back over to Kaede and myself, "we'll see you tomorrow night..." he stopped as a grumbling noise came up, "I knew I shouldn't have skipped lunch. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm hungry."

Lisa, Ryan and Emily quietly chuckled as they followed Patrick into the 'Steak Villa' resturant. We said our good byes to them, then we headed off back to the truck.

The next morning, Kaede and I walked over to Yukie, Shiori and Naomi's room to see how our Little Sis was doing, "I'm still feeling sick," she groaned, "but I don't feel as bad as I did yesterday."

Kaede walked over towards her and placed her right hand on Naomi's forehead, "your fever is going down, but it's not a good idea to get out of bed just yet."

"I know, it's better to stay in bed until I'm completely better. I just hope I get better before we leave for Toronto."

"Oh you'll be better by that time," I said, "like I was telling you yesterday, you might be feeling better by tonight."

"Speaking of tonight," she coughed weakily, "I heard you and Kaede are going bowling with Lisa and those knuckle...ah guys," she corrected herself, especially after seeing a stern expression on my face, "I hope you guys win."

"It's not about winning or losing," said Kaede, "it's about having fun while playing the game."

"Well said Kaede," smiled Yukie, Shiori gave her a thumbs in agreement to what Yukie said.

"Right, in that case - have fun you two," before she went back to sleep, she added with a weak chuckle, "make you sure you two kick some butt." After saying that, she went to sleep.

I chuckled, "same old Little Sis." I walked up to her bed and tucked her in carefully, "sweet dreams Little Sis."

Kaede and I got up quietly, then we tip-toed out of the room.

Throughout the entire day, Kaede and I spent most of the day around the town of Engleheart, either exploring the town or watching the Ontario Northland trains pass the station and steam locomotive #701. Like always, Kaede took pictures with her digital camera while I did all the filming.

At around six, we returned back to New Liskard and actually beat our friends to the bowling alley.

I just couldn't help myself, "what took you guys so long?" I asked in a teasing way. Kaede was just giggling when she heard me ask that.

"Very funny," Patrick said sarcastically, "now come on, let's go in."

Sadly, not with all of us were going to be able to play - mostly because only five players could play on one of the alleys. Lisa said that she was going to stay on the sidelines just to give Kaede a chance to play, "are you sure you don't want to play right now Lisa?" Kaede asked.

"I'm quite sure Kaede," said Lisa, "I don't want you to feel left out, so go ahead and play, I'll join in later on. Now remember have fun..." then she whispered, "and make sure you kick Patrick and Ryan's butts."

"We heard that!" snapped Patrick and Ryan in unison.

"Oh come on guys," Lisa giggled, "I'm just kidding. I know it's not about winning or losing, it's about how you play the game - I only hope you can remind yourselves that."

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked curiously.

"Didn't Ryan tell you?" There was a short pause, "I didn't think so. Well I remember when the six of us used to go bowling that those two, along with Connor and Jeff, would compete aganist each other trying to beat each other and almost every time, they would end up in a tie. It was quite entertaining to watch."

Again, both Patrick and Ryan stared at Lisa with stern looks on their faces, but Lisa just continued laughing.

As for Kaede and myself, we were picking out our bowling balls for the ten pin bowling game. Kaede was going to use a light pink bowling ball while I was going to use a blue bowling ball (same shade of blue as our eye color, what are the odds of finding a bowling ball with that shade of blue?).

"Hey Kaede, have you ever bowled before?" Emily asked.

"Yes I've bowled before," Kaede nodded, "but it's been three years since I last bowled."

"If I remember correctly," I said, "you told me that three years ago, Asa invited you and Rin to join her and Ms. Ama at the bowling alley, am I right?"

"Yes," Kaede nodded, "that is correct Matthew."

Lisa was about to say something, "Before you ask 'is there anything you two didn't talk about?' "I interupted, "when we talked on the chatroom, there were some things we didn't talk about."

"But I bet now that you two are married, you've told each other everything."

"We have, but don't ask what those secrets are...cause I won't tell you," I added in a teasing way. Again Kaede just giggled (I just love hearing her giggle).

"Is everyone ready?" Patrick asked eagerly.

"Just about," Emily answered, "just give us a minute Patrick...and don't you start before we're ready."

"Too late for that Emily," I said, "Patrick's already started the game." Emily looked to our lane and saw Patrick roll his ball - it rolled on down the lane, but ended up in the gutter.

"Darn!" he groaned.

"That's what you get for rushing," Lisa chuckled, "now this time wait for us...and quit being competitive!"

"Fine," Patrick groaned. So he waited a few more seconds before we were all ready. "Alright, game on!" He picked up his bowling ball and rolled it down the lane - he knocked all but the seventh and tenth pins down. "Shoot! Alright Emily, you're up!"

"Alright, time to show a little girl power," she giggled. She picked up her bowling ball and rolled it down the lane - she hit all the pins, "YES! A strike! Okay Ryan, your turn!"

Ryan got up from his seat, picked up his bowling ball and walked up to the lane, "watch this Patrick, _this_ is how you bowl." He looked ahead, focused - then he rolled the ball down the lane - he also got a strike!

"Lucky shot," grumbled Patrick.

On my first turn, I knocked down eight pins on my first roll, and on my second roll, I knocked down the last two pins. On Kaede's first roll, she got...a strike!

"Whoa! Way to go Girl!" cheered Lisa.

"Nice shot Kaede my love!" I called out to her. Kaede looked back to me with that cute trademark smile of her's showing.

"Alright it's my turn now," said Patrick, "watch closely Ryan, cause I'm going to show you what a true master of bowling can do." Patrick was so focused on showing how good he was that he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. He rolled his ball - down the other alley to our right.

"Nice shot Patrick!" called Lisa, "but next time, try knocking down your own pins."

"Right," he said feeling quite foolish. When his ball came back, he picked it up and rolled it down the lane - knocking down all the pins, "oh yeah there we go! Now that's how you do it! Beat that Ryan!"

Ryan showed a smirk across his face, "oh I will when I get my second strike," he said.

Lisa and I just rolled our eyes, "and they're off again," Lisa giggled.

After about twenty five minutes or so, the first game was done. Both Patrick and Ryan's scores were 195, Emily's score was 215, Kaede had an amazing 250 and as for me, well my score was 235.

"So who's up for another game?" Patrick asked.

Lisa, Emily and Ryan agreed to play another game. "If it's okay with all of you, I'll sit the next game out," said Kaede, "that way Lisa can have a chance to play."

"What about you Matthew? Are you going to join us or are you going to sit this next game out with Kaede?" Emily asked.

"I'll sit this next game out with Kaede, I don't want her to feel alone."

"You really care about her don't you?"

"You bet I do," I smiled. Kaede smiled back at me and wrapped her arms around my left arm.

"Oh how adorable," Emily smiled.

So while the others got ready to play the next game, Kaede and I walked over to the counter that overlooked the entire bowling alley. "You were fantastic out there Kaede," I said kindly, "you're really good at playing this game."

"Thank you Matthew. You're really good too," she then asked, "are you having fun so far?"

"I sure am," I nodded, "what about you? Are you having fun?"

Kaede nodded, "I am. Especially since I'm with you my love," she got up on her toes and kissed me on the left side of my face, "I love you."

"And I love you too," I said. I leaned in and kissed her on the right side of her face, which made her blush into a light shade of red.

"You weren't kidding when you said those two really love each other," Emily said to Ryan, "they really are a cute couple, don't you think so?" Ryan nodded and sighed unhappily, "what's wrong Ryan?"

"I just can't believe that Patrick and I nearly tore that lovely couple apart, what were we thinking?" he groaned, "we were acting like a bunch of idiots."

"Stop beating yourself up over this Ryan," said Lisa, "Matthew and Kaede have forgiven you and Patrick for what you did. They are willing to start a new friendship with you two, you should be grateful for that."

"Oh but we are," said Patrick, "we are grateful that both Matthew and Kaede are giving us another chance. Speaking of another chance, it's your turn Ryan - oh and...look at the scoreboard." Ryan looked and groaned, "that's right, I got another strike, top that one!"

Ryan picked up his bowling ball and rolled it down the alley way. His ball knocked out all the pins again, "top that Patrick!"

"Were they like this all the time?" Emily asked Lisa with a whisper.

"All the time," she giggled as she got up to bowl next.

The second game ended with Lisa winning, she had the best score, 275. Patrick got the second best score, 250. Ryan's score was 230, same with Emily.

"Alright," panted Emily, "I'm done, I'm going to sit the next game out, I'm going to get a drink."

"Same here," panted Lisa, "I'm beat. Matthew, Kaede, are you going to join in on the third game."

"Of course we are," Kaede and I answered in unison.

So while Patrick, Ryan, Kaede and I played the game, Lisa and Emily stood near the same counter and talked while watching us. Personally, I think Lisa was telling some embarrassing stories again.

Like in the last two games, Patrick and Ryan were competing aganist each other, "Same as always," I chuckled.

When our third game was done, they had the same score: 165. Kaede had a score of 250, (she got at least 5 strikes) and as for me, I got a score of 277.

"Nice game guys," Lisa smiled as we walked up to the counter, "especially you Kaede, you were amazing out there. Anyways, we got you guys some drinks. Sodas for Patrick and Ryan and two bottles of water for Matthew and Kaede."

"Thank you Lisa and you too Emily," Kaede said kindly.

"I like to propose a toast," said Ryan, "to our friendship...and for second chances."

"To friendships and second chances!" we cheered, then we took sips of our drinks. "So who's up for another game?" Patrick asked, "we got the lane for another twenty minutes."

Only Ryan wanted to play another game, the rest of us said we were going to stay by the counter.

"This ought to be entertaining," Lisa giggled.

After twenty minutes, the lane was closed, "Darn it!" groaned Patrick, "and just when I was going for a perfect game. If we had the lane a little longer, I would've gotten a 300."

"Oh well, there's always a next time," said Ryan, then he added with a chuckle, "I was beating you though."

"You wish," Patrick scoffed.

Again Lisa and I just rolled our eyes and groaned, some things just don't change with Patrick and Ryan.

"Thank you again for inviting us," Kaede said to Patrick and Ryan as we were leaving, "we had a grand time with you tonight, right Matthew?" I nodded my head in agreement.

"Well we're glad you had a good time," said Patrick, "cause we had a good time too, and don't you worry, these games were on us. This was our treat for you."

"Well thanks again for asking us to hang out with you tonight," said Lisa, "now if you'll excuse me..." she let out a huge yawn, "I would like to go back to the motel for some sleep."

"I'll be lucky if I can get any sleep," Patrick groaned, "Kikyou's always giving me that look...it's quite creepy if you ask me."

"You don't need to worry about Kikyou buddy," I said to him, "in time, she'll learn to trust you, then she'll stop giving you the look."

"Hope you're right," he said while yawning, "come on Lisa, Ryan's car is just around the corner."

After about seven minutes, we were all back at the motel. When we arrived, Kaede and I went to see how Naomi was doing, "her fever is almost gone," said Shiori, "she should be feeling one hundred percent better tomorrow morning."

"That's good to hear," smiled Naomi. She looked over to Kaede and myself, "would it be okay if I hang out with you two tomorrow."

"Of course it's okay Naomi," Kaede answered, "you're more than welcome to join us tomorrow."

"That's right," I nodded, "we'll show you some of the places you haven't seen yet and we'll take you to those resturants, just like I told you yesterday."

"Yeah that'll be great," she smiled, "now if you'll excuse me, I need some sleep..." and just like that, she was out like a light again.

"Sweet dreams Naomi," Kaede and I whispered in unison. We once again tip-toed out of the room, thanked Yukie and Shiori for all they did, then we headed off back to our room to relax.


	18. More To See

Hello again my friends, I am proud to present the next installment of 'Our Kinda Trip'. For this installment, Kaede, Naomi and Matthew are going to some of the locations in New Liskard I haven't mentioned in the previous chapter as Matthew and Kaede give Naomi a little tour of the town. Also they will visit another town called Earlton. As always, the rating is the same with no swearing included and the date of this chapter starts on November 4th 2010. And now here's the 18th chapter of...

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 18: More to See**_

"Matthew..." I heard a sweet voice call out my name, "Matthew. It's time to get up sleepy head," this was followed by the cutest giggle I have ever heard. I opened my eyes to see my loving wife Kaede staring down at me while showing her cute angel like smile.

"Good morning Kaede," I smiled before letting out a big yawn, "did you sleep well last night?"

"I did, what about you?"

"Yeah I slept well last night too, although I was woken up a couple of times by a strange dream I had." Kaede looked me with a worried look on her face, "don't worry Kaede, it's not like the 'knucklehead' nightmare I had from June to July."

Kaede let out a sigh of relief before she asked, "what was this dream about?"

"Well in the dream, you and I were talking to my parents at their house, but then the conversation started to spiral out of control, words were exchanged - strong words I might add," I muttered quietly under my breath, "then after I shouted at them, my dad ran up to me, full of rage and was about to punch me, but that's when I woke up."

"That's a terrible dream to have."

"Yeah it is, but I don't think that would happen...well, except for the argument with my mother, that might happen if we run into her again. I think she's already mad at me for snapping at her the last two times we met her. Enough of that though, what about you Kaede, what was your dream about?"

Kaede was just about to answer me, but before she could say anything, we heard someone knocking on the hallway door, "I wonder who that is," said Kaede.

"I think I know who it is," I climbed out of the bed and walked over to the door. I looked threw the 'peep-hole', but couldn't see anyone, "it's Little Sis."

I turned the handle and opened the door, sure enough it was Naomi, "hey you two, are you ready to go?"

"For goodness sakes Little Sis, we had just gotten up, we're not ready to go," I groaned.

"Oh, sorry," she said meekily, "I guess I'm just so excited about _finally_ getting to go out again after three days of having the flu that I didn't think that you would either be asleep or just getting up. So sorry again."

"Nah that's okay Little Sis," I yawned, "you just got too excited for your own good. Anyways, just give us some time and we'll be ready to go."

"Okay. Ah, would it be okay if I stay in here with you two? I don't want to wake Yukie and Shiori up."

"Of course you can stay in here with us Naomi," Kaede said kindly before she turned her attention back over to me, "if you want to take a shower Matthew, you can go ahead, I don't mind waiting."

"Alright Kaede," I walked over to the suitcase and picked out the clothes I wanted to wear today, "I won't be long."

"It's okay, take as much time as you need, there's no rush." I just smiled and nodded at Kaede before I walked into the washroom, closing the door behind me.

In about twenty five minutes, I was finally done, "okay Kaede, it's all yours now!"

"Thanks Matthew." Kaede got up from the bed, got out the clothes she wanted to wear and walked into the washroom.

No sooner had she walked into the washroom then we heard someone knocking on the hallway door. I looked out the peep-hole and sighed, "I think there is something you forgot to do before you left the room Do you know what I'm talking about Little Sis?."

"Wha...oh shoot, I forgot to let them know I was coming over here."

"You got that right," I opened the door to find both Yukie and Shiori standing there and looking worried, "you two don't need to worry anymore, Little Sis is over here. She's been over here for over twenty minutes already."

"Sorry Yukie, sorry Shiori," Naomi said to them, "I forgot to write you two a note saying I was coming over here."

"It's okay Naomi," said Yukie, "we were just wondering where you were. Next time you plan on going out and both Shiori and I are asleep, write down a little note so that way we'll know."

"Sure, I'll remember to do that next time."

"Good," smiled Shiori, "oh and don't forget to dress up properly before you head out."

"Don't worry Shiori, I'll be dressed properly this time. I mean I don't want to get sick just one day after getting over the flu," she sighed quietly, "I'll be sure to wear my scraf, hat, gloves and boots this time instead of my shoes."

"Well that's something else you and I have in common," I spoke up.

"What?"

"Don't you remember what I told you before about my school's strict uniform code? And how we couldn't go to school wearing boots?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot that," she said meekily, "the students had to wear shoes instead of boots, that's going to leave you with cold feet...and I am not joking this time," she added firmly.

"Yeah I know that Little Sis, it's not funny when you get sick and all because of that darn uniform code. At least the schools you go to allow you to come with jackets and boots on cold winter days like today."

"Do you think your high school is still strict about their uniform code?"

"I don't know. Last I heard, the school had been getting nothing but complaints from parents and so, from what I heard, they might be changing some of the rules, a little bit mind you."

"Well it's a start," said Yukie.

"Yeah it's a start," I nodded in agreement. "So what are you two going to do today?"

"We're going with Rin and Asa to visit North Colbolt for a bit, then after lunch, Shiori and I will do some shopping at some of the stores before coming back here to play some of the games in the arcade."

"Ah...we better get going sis," said Shiori, "I can see Asa waving to us, I think they're ready to go."

"Okay I'm coming. You guys have a good time out today and we'll see later," with that said, Yukie and Shiori turned on their heels and walked away to meet up with Asa and Rin.

Less than five minutes later, Kaede came out of the washroom wearing her white shirt, along with her black skirt and she also wore her dark grey socks, "was that Yukie and Shiori I heard?" she asked as she got out our matching sweaters from our suitcase.

"Yeah that was Yukie and Shiori..." I paused and looked over to Naomi, "care to tell Kaede why they came by?"

"Well I...I forgot to let them know that I was coming over here, I didn't leave them a note or anything. I promise them though that next time I will let them know that I'm going out."

"That's a good idea Naomi," said Kaede, "you shouldn't walk away without telling someone where you're going."

"Yeah, I know that now. Anyways, I'm more than ready to go...ah, where are we going excatly?"

"We'll go anywhere you want to go Little Sis, but before that though, there is something I want to show both you and Kaede."

"What is it?"

"Sorry Little Sis, but I'm not going to tell you anything...just yet," I added with a quiet chuckle, "you're just going have to wait till we get there. Before we go though, where is your jacket, your boots, scraf and everything else you need."

"Whoops, they're still back in Yukie and Shiori's room, I'll be right back." And with that, she ran off back to her room.

"Same old Little Sis," I sighed and rolling my eyes, Kaede just giggled quietly.

About five minutes later, we were on the road again. As you can guess, Naomi asked more than a few times, "are we there yet?"

And like before, I kept on saying, "not yet Little Sis. I'll let you know when we get there."

It wasn't long before we finally arrived at our destination, "here we are, the town of Earlton."

"Earlton? Isn't that where they have that steam show every year?" Kaede asked.

"How do you know that Kaede?" Naomi asked.

"How do you think she knows?" I asked her. Naomi muttered a little 'oh yeah' and went quiet, "and in answer to your question Kaede, this is where that steam show is usually held, on the third weekend of July is when the Steam show comes to town."

"When was the last time you went to the show Big Bro?"

"Hmm, have to be around 2003."

"I thought you came to New Liksard in 2008."

"Yes I did, but I came in August, so I missed the steam show that year. Now if I remember correctly, on that very lot, there should be an old Canadian Pacific Steam crane."

We drove up to the lot and parked next to the fence, "I just want to see if it's still here."

"I'm coming with you Matthew," said Kaede as she opened the door.

"Thanks Kaede," I looked back over to Naomi, "are you going to join us Little Sis?"

"Ah no thank you, I'm going to stay here and stay warm, plus my favourite song is coming up on this CD."

"Alright then, we'll be back in a bit."

Like always, Kaede brought her digitial camera with her. We walked for a bit until we had reached the outskirts of the nearby forest and sitting there on a small piece of track was the CPR Crane I was talking about.

"Just think Kaede, many years ago during the steam era, this very crane was used to help lift locomotives, freight cars or even coaches back onto the rails following a derailment. I bet you it saw lots of action in those days."

"I'm sure it did," Kaede nodded in agreement. She took a few pictures of the steam crane from all different directions, then we went back to the truck, "has a steam engine ever come to the Steam show?"

"No, no steam engine has ever been brought here to the steam show. If one did, where would they put it? There's no tracks, besides the one that the crane is sitting on. Plus the tracks of the Ontario Northland Railway are a bit of a distance away from here. It's okay though, there's still lots to see when the steam show is in town, it's a great show," I sighed quietly.

"Maybe someday we can come back and see the steam show for ourselves."

"Yeah, that would be great," I smiled.

After looking around some more, we returned to the truck, only to find Naomi singing along to 'Haven't Met You Yet' by 'Michael Buble', "enjoying the tunes Little Sis?"

"Ah...yeah," she answered and looked down to the floor, she was blushing in embarrassment, "so did you two find that crane you were talking about?"

"We found it," said Kaede, "and we got plenty of pictures of the crane too."

"Great, so where are we going next?"

"Well first we're going to drive around Earlton, maybe stop in a store or two, then we'll head off back to New Liskard, sounds like a good plan to you?"

"Yeah, sounds like a good plan."

So after getting back into the truck, the three of us headed off to Earlton. During our drive, we found several Ontario Northland cabooses just sitting on display either a close distance away from the tracks or sitting in someone's back yard. We passed by several farms with barns in excellent condition and even got passed by a couple of tractors, some were small and others...well, they were so big that we had to get off the road before they could pass us.

We drove around Earlton before heading back to New Liskard. Of course we made a little stop at the store that sold Cheese Curds, Kaede and I got a small bag for ourselves later tonight and a small bag of chips, as for Naomi...well, she got three bags of cheese curds.

"Why did you get three bags Naomi?" Kaede asked.

"One's going to Big Sis, Daisy and the twins, the second one I'm giving to Yukie and Shiori as my way of saying thank you for what they did for me while I was sick."

"That's sweet of you," I raised an eyebrow to her, "and the third bag..."

"Well come on, I got to eat something. This one's all mine."

"You just love those cheese curds don't you?" I asked while chuckling quietly.

"You bet I do Big Bro," she giggled.

After getting the cheese curds and chips, we drove off back to New Liskard. Like before, I parked the truck in the parking lot of the Giant Tiger store. Once parked, we walked up to the store, but instead of going left towards the 'Macs' convenience store, we went to the right to check out the rest of the shopping district.

"Oh look!" Naomi cried, "there's an Ice Cream shop, who wants to get an ice cream?"

"Little Sis...what is the matter with you? It's freezing cold out here and you want ice cream?"

"Oh relax Big Bro, I'm just joking," she giggled and started walking away from us, "come on you two or I'm going on ahead without you."

"Same old Little Sis," I whispered over to Kaede.

Of course we both knew that Naomi wouldn't run away from us. She doesn't know this town quite like I do, so it's quite easy for her to get lost. Anyways, we continued on down that street till we came up to the car wash, that's when we turned around and walked up to the water front.

"Hey Big Bro."

"Yes? What is it Little Sis?"

"What are those wooden sheds doing out on the ice?"

"Those are fishing huts Little Sis. People stay in them while they are fishing, haven't you ever seen one of those before?"

"Nope, I've never seen one before, not even when I was living in those shelters I made myself. I never knew about Fishing Huts until now. I guess that old saying is true, you learn something new everyday."

"I couldn't have said it better myself Little Sis," I nodded in agreement.

After that, we walked past a few more stores and another hotel, this one I guess was about the same height as the new hotel that's being built next to the Quality Inn motel we're staying at, but about the same length as our motel. After that, we walked threw the rest of the shopping district and watched as an Ontario Northland freight train rattled by.

"Where would you like to go next Naomi?" Kaede asked her after the last freight car rolled over the crossing.

"Well I would like to go to that KFC resturant and try that popcorn chicken I heard so much about."

And so, the three of us walked off back to the truck and drove off to the KFC resturant. When we arrived, we met up with Sia and Dave, "hey guys, you having a good time out today."

"Oh you bet we are," Naomi answered, "we're having a great time out today."

"You must be happy to finally be getting out of bed right?" Dave asked.

"Yep, I'm glad to finally be out of bed again. For a while there though, I thought I would be stuck in bed throughout the rest of this trip, but thanks to Yukie, Shiori, Kaede and Big Bro, I'm all better..."

"You seem to have forgotten Daisy, Primula, Max and Monty," I said, "they helped you too remember?"

"Oh yeah..." she said meekily, "they also helped me to get better and the good news is that I finally got rid of the flu."

"Glad to hear it," Sia smiled, "just remember to wear the proper winter gear when you go outside."

"Don't worry, I won't forget," she chuckled quietly as she sat down to continue her little talk with Dave and Sia.

While she was talking with them, Kaede and I went up to the counter to order lunch, which included the small buckets of popcorn chicken, one was for Naomi and the other one was for Kaede and myself.

"So what have you two been up to today?" Naomi asked them.

"Well we did a little walk around the mall for a bit and doing some shopping," Sia answered, "and just before we came in here, we were watching a movie in the movie theatre, right Dave?" Dave nodded his head in agreement.

"What movie did you see?" Kaede asked as we arrived with our lunches.

"We were watching a romantic movie where a boy tries to fall in love with a girl, but her parents won't allow him anywhere near her. Sounds awfully familar doesn't it?"

"Sadly yes," Dave groaned.

"Still, it was a very good movie, you guys should see it. I think it's playing again at around two this afternoon."

"I guess we could do that, but it's up to Little Sis," I said, I turned my attention back over to Naomi, "what do you say Little Sis, do you want to go see that movie at two?"

"Of course I want to see that movie, it feels likes ages since we last a movie in the theatres. Hey Kaede, what time is it right now?"

Kaede checked the watch I gave her a few months ago, "it's tweleve twenty five right now."

"Alright, so we can go out for another hour or so, then we'll go to the theatre at around one thrity."

"Sounds like a good plan to me, but before we go anywhere...I'm going to eat this popcorn chicken, I really like it," to prove that she did like it, she ate another piece, "I can see why everyone likes these."

After lunch, the three of us headed out to see more sights around New Liskard and we went to the small museum just outside of North Colbolt. We learned quite a bit about the history of these towns in that museum and we got to check out the outdoor exhabits like the old Ontario Northland Caboose and the big tugboat sitting beside it.

After that, we returned to New Liskard to see that movie.

"Forbidden Love," Naomi was saying as she read the title of the movie, "one boy tries to fall in love with a girl, but her parents stand in the way. Will these two ever get to fall in love?"

"Hey Little Sis, are you coming in with us or not?" I asked, "I already payed for our tickets."

"What already? Dang Big Bro, you're fast! Hey, where's Kaede?"

"She's getting the popcorn and the drinks right now."

Naomi was just at a loss of words, but still she did follow me to the refreshment's counter where Kaede was, "I got a small bag of popcorn and Coke for you Naomi, and I got a medium sized bag and two bottles of water for us."

"You guys did all this while I was reading the poster?"

"Yes," Kaede and I answered in unison.

"Like I said to Big Bro, you're fast!"

The person behind the counter had just finished filling up the medium sized popcorn bag, he brought it and the smaller bag over to the counter, "here you go miss, enjoy the movie."

"Thank you."

"And we will," said Naomi.

She grabbed hold of her small bag of popcorn and her soda and walked over to the first theatre, "Ah Little Sis, the movie we want to see is in the other theatre."

"Oh right, sorry," she said while blushing in embarrassment again.

She turned around quickly and followed us into the second theatre on the right side. Now this theatre is quite different from the modern day movie theatres, it's like one of the older movie theatres used sometime around the 1950's or so, this theatre came with a small screen and had about six long lines of seats leading up to the screen.

We chose to sit in one of the middle rows on the right side.

"You know," I whispered to Kaede and Naomi, "I heard that years ago, this theatre had only one screen and the wall that to the left, well...there was no wall, this was all one theatre."

"And how do you know that?" Naomi asked.

"I heard that from my dad. Remember this is his hometown, he grew up around here when he was a kid."

Before Naomi could say anything, the lights started going out and a short movie about the refreshment stand started playing on the screen. After that short film were a few trailers and then the movie began.

Sia and Dave were definetly right, it was a good movie and quite a lovely story. Kaede and I liked how that boy never gave up, despite the fact that the girl's parents never allow him to go anywhere near her and would try to beat him up if he tried to even talk to her.

Of course as you can imagine, Kaede rested her head on my left shoulder as we watched the movie and at one point, she whispered to me, "I love you Matthew."

"And I love you too Kaede."

She reached out her left hand and I grabbed it softly with my right hand, I lifted it up and kissed it - right around the same time the boy in the movie kissed the girl's hand, and throughout the rest of the movie, we continued holding hands while using our other hands to grab some popcorn out of the bag.


	19. The Big Blowout

It's been over a year since I started the 'Our Kinda Trip' and it's almost been a year since I started the 'New Liskard' portion of the trip. Now after many months of trying to come up with new ideas and working around my busy timetable, I'm proud to present the last installment of the 'New Liskard' portion of the trip before the gang heads off to Toronto. Before I begin, I would like to say thank you to Mike11208 who helped me alot with this chapter's idea. Now this chapter's date is Friday November 5th 2010, the rating is still the same as always with no swearing included. Anyways, that's all I have to say for now, here's the 19th chapter of...

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 19: The Big Blowout**_

Kaede and I spent most of the Friday afternoon either just driving around and checking out all the sights or visiting some of my cousins, like Margrett. Now at around four thirty, Kaede and I were sitting on a bench, sharing a Hershey's 'Cookies and Creme' chocolate bar while visiting the mall.

"After this, is there anywhere in particular you want to go to?"

"Actually, I was hoping we could go back to the motel room and rest," Kaede answered, "then maybe later, I can make us dinner. Would that be okay?"

"Yeah, it's okay with me, I think that's a great idea...as long as I can help you make dinner."

"Of course you can help me," she giggled happily, "I would like that."

Kaede and I ate the last two pieces of the chocolate bar, then we got up to continue walking around. We hadn't gone far from the bench before we came across two people we haven't seen in a while...my parents. Last time we saw them was at 'Zante's' resturant.

"Hello Matthew and you too Kaede," my father said as he and my mother walked up to us, "We haven't seen much of you two or your friends lately."

"Oh well you know we've been here and there, either exploring around New Liskard or visiting cousins in other towns."

"So you've gone to visit Nicole," my mother said with that firm look on her face again. She eyed Kaede, "and I see you're still with her..."

"That's quite enough Lorriane," said my father, he then turned to us, "when do you guys have to go to Toronto?"

"We're leaving for Toronto on the 8th," Kaede answered.

"Oh well in that case, if you two aren't too busy tomorrow, why don't you drop by for a visit at our house," he suggested.

"Ah...well I guess we could," I said, "what do you think Kaede?"

"We're not busy tomorrow, so I guess we could drop by for a quick visit."

"Fine, we'll have the house ready for you tomorrow," my mother snorted angerily and walked away. Before my dad walked away, he gave us some instructions to the location of his new house.

"See you tomorrow," he said cheerfully and walked away.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," I said quietly.

A little later that evening, Kaede and I were back in our motel room and making dinner together. "Are you okay with going to your parent's house tomorrow Matthew?" she asked me kindly.

"Not really no, I'm not really okay with going there. I mean, it is the house they bought without telling me at first, then they moved in there without thinking of asking me to join them..." I sighed angerily, "plus there's the fact we'll be talking to my mother...I don't think I want to go there. I would just feel uncomfortable there."

"Well we don't have to go if you don't want to, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"Oh that's one of the reasons I love you so much Kaede," I smiled as I placed my left hand on her left shoulder and pulled her close to me, "you're always thinking about my feelings and you never make me do something I don't want to do."

I rubbed her left shoulder a bit and kissed her on her forehead.

"But we can't let my parents down, I know they'd be disappointed...in their own special way."

"Well how about we go there for a while and if you start getting upset, we can always leave, just thank them for inviting us, then we'll go whenever you want to go."

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea to me, we can do that, you are one clever girl Kaede."

"Oh Matthew," she smiled and rested her head on my shoulder, she's so cute when she does that. She looked up to me and kissed me on the left side of my face before we went back to cooking.

The following next morning, the two of us went off to my parent's house. So far during this portion of the trip, I've been doing pretty in keeping my emotions in check, mostly thanks to Kaede, I wouldn't be able to do this without her. I knew, long before this trip began, that we would visit some places that are emotional to me because of some bad memories, but this place we were going to, was the one place I have _never_ visited, but it would be tough for me to just see it. The very house my parents bought and never told me about, then they moved out of the old house, leaving me behind and moving into that house.

Throughout the drive there, Kaede could see the look on my face which showed just I felt about going there.

"It's okay Matthew," she whispered kindly to me, "I'm right here beside you okay?"

"Okay," I said, calming down a little.

After a while, we finally arrived outside of their home. The house was alot bigger than the old house, with two floors and possibly a big basement too. There was also a big barn on the property, I could just see the old tractor sitting in that building (my dad probably forgot to close the door) and there was a fence surronding the yard and garden.

I stopped the truck right next to my dad's truck, took in a deep breath and said, "let's do this."

"Let's go," Kaede nodded.

We both stepped out of the truck, locked the doors and walked up to the side door. There was a sign beside the door, it read 'Keep Out', "well that's not a nice way to greet people."

Before I even had a chance to knock on the door, it was opened by my mother.

"You're on time, for once," she said rudely.

"Yeah nice to see you too," I groaned.

"Take your boots off before you come in." Kaede and I did what we were told, we took off our boots and left them in the small porch. Even though we did what we were told, my mother still gave me that look.

"Matthew, Kaede," said my father, "good to see you two, did you have any trouble finding the place?"

"Nope, no trouble at all," I answered, "you gave us good directions."

"Thanks, now why don't I give you a little tour of the house. Just follow me." Kaede and I did follow behind my dad, while my mother followed closely behind.

First up was the basement and I was right, it was huge, there was also a giant train set being built down there, "is it going to be like the old train set?"

"Sort of, but a bit bigger than the last one, plus the curves will be wide enough for the trains so they won't come off the tracks."

After the basement, we were shown the kitchen, (which looked similar to the old kitchen), then the living room/dining room (no wall seperating them), next was the upstairs level where they showed their two bedrooms and an empty guest room.

Afterwords, we went downstairs to the living room to have a little chat, "we got some pop in the fridge in case you want any."

"Thanks, but can I ask for a glass of water instead?" Kaede asked.

"Sure," my father nodded, "and Matthew, what would you like?"

"I'll also have water," I said.

My father turned and walked off for the kitchen. Now it was just Kaede, myself and my mother in the living room, "so where's your little sister? Didn't she want to come here and see our house?"

"Ah no, Daisy is hanging out with Monty, and his brother and Primula."

"Right," she said while raising an eyebrow, "so where did you find her?"

"I told you Lorraine," my father said as he came back in, "she was the one who found him and would not let go of him."

"Yeah that's pretty much it, so I brought her home..."

"Ah you mean Ms. Fuyou's home right? Technically it's really your home, you're just a guest staying there."

That's the thing with my mom, she'll say excatly what's on her mind, even the stuff that will hurt people's feelings. "Actually it's not just my home, it's _our_ home," Kaede spoke up, "and my last name is now Gagnon, not Fuyou."

I just smiled at her and rubbed a small patch of skin on her right hand, "thanks Kaede," I whispered back.

"You're welcome," she whispered back.

"So what happened to the old house?" my mother asked again, "have you seen it lately?"

"Yes we have," I answered, "the owners I sold it to have moved out and the basement is flooded once again. If you went down into the basement, the water would probably be up to your waist."

"Well we always did have problems in that basement," said my dad, "I knew someday it would flood."

"You obviously didn't do a good job keeping that from happening," she said rudely to my dad.

"No I guess not," he admitted, "but hey at least I tried," he turned his attention back to me, "so how long did you stay in that house before moving to Tokyo?"

"I stayed in that house for another week before I moved out and sold the house to someone else...I'm actually still quite surprised that I got a buyer that quick, but they really liked the place and so I sold it to them, packed everything of mine up and then moved out. But enough about me, what have you two done since you moved here?"

"We installed that new fence around the yards, when we arrived, there was no fence. We also drywalled the basement, built the tables for the train set and painted the washment and just a couple of weeks ago, we built a new cabinets for all the cans and boxes of food."

"You mean I built it," my mother snapped at my dad, "you only added the shelves and screwed up the doors."

"Yep, that's something that hasn't changed about my mother," I thought only to myself.

For the next hour or so, Kaede and I listened to my parents talk all about what they have done since they moved in, then Kaede and I told them a bit about what we have done since I moved in with her.

By around four, we decided it was time to go, "ah well it was nice having you two come by to visit us," said my father, "hey are you two going to be busy tomorow night?" we both shook our heads, "great, in that case, why don't you meet up with us at Steak Villa for dinner, and bring Daisy and Monty along too."

"We'll try, but I'm not sure if she'll be busy doing something else tomorrow night, but we'll check with her."

"Alright, well we'll see you two tomorrow night at five."

"Don't be late," my mother added firmly.

After saying good night, Kaede and I got our boots, jackets and the rest of our winter gear on, then we climbed back into the truck and drove away, "well that wasn't so bad," I said on the way back to the motel, "I didn't get emotional, I'm just sorry you had to hear all that...ah well, rude talk from my mom."

"It's okay Matthew, I didn't mind, I actually had a good time."

"Well I'm glad to hear that," I reached out my right arm and placed it on her shoulder and held her close towards me.

A little later that night, Kaede and I walked up to the pool and found Daisy and Monty swimming, "hey you two," Daisy smiled, "so how was the visit?"

"It was okay," I answered, "we did a lot of talking and told them a lot about what we've been doing since I moved in with Kaede and they told us of what they've been doing since they moved into their house. Plus they gave us a tour of the place."

"How did it go? Was it emotional for you Matt?"

"A little bit yes, but I was okay, all thanks to Kaede," I smiled over to my wife, who just smiled back at me. "Just before we left, my parents, well mostly my dad, asked us if we would like to go to dinner with them tomorrow night?"

"And what did you say?"

"We said we would, and they also asked us to ask you if you would like to come along with us to Steak Villa. It's enterily up to you though, if you don't want to, then that's fine."

There was a short pause, then Daisy spoke to Monty, "What do you say Monty? Do you want to go to Steak Villa with Kaede, Matt and his parents?"

"I don't see a reason why not," he said, "as long as you're coming too Daisy, it just wouldn't be the same without you there."

"Well of course I'm coming," she giggled happily.

"Then it's settled, we're definetly going with you guys. Now if you'll excuse me..." he paused as he looked over to the other side of the pool, "I think my brother is challenging to a swimming contest, I'm going over to kick his butt. See you in a bit!" And with that, Monty swam away.

"I better get over there just to keep Max and Monty from getting out of control, I'll see you two in a bit."

And with that, she swam away, while Kaede and I walked over to the stairwell and stepped into the pool for a nice swim.

The following next afternoon, after doing some packing for the next day's trip, Daisy, Monty, Kaede and I drove off for the mall, we actually got there before them. As we waited, I could see the nervous look upon Daisy's face, I could tell she was still worried of what my mother would say when she saw her.

"Just ignore her if she starts saying rude things," I whispered to her, "and don't worry about it, just enjoy your meal and have a good time."

"Okay," she whispered back, "thanks Matt."

After five minutes of waiting, my parents arrived, "I can't beleive you beat us here," said my father, "usually we're the first ones here."

"And there's a good reason for that," my mother muttered, but loud enough for all of us to hear.

We were soon in the resturant sitting at a very big table, there were actually seven seats, "that seat is for Margrett," said my father, "I hope you don't mind, but I invited her to join us."

"That's fine," I smiled, "We don't mind if you invite her to join us. So what time is she suppose to be here?"

"Right now," said a voice from behind me, which made me jump in surprise, "sorry Matthew, I didn't mean to spook you."

"It's fine Margrett," I panted, "don't worry about it. Anyways, I got two people I want to introduce you to, my adopted sister Daisy and her boyfriend Monty."

"So this is your young sister Daisy," Margrett smiled, "it's nice to meet you Daisy and you too Monty. Matthew and Kaede have told me a great deal about you two."

"Good things we hope," said Monty.

"Oh yes, very good things."

After the little meet and greet, we sat down at the table and started looking threw the menus. Tonight, Kaede and I were going to order a chicken dinner while Daisy and Monty ordered the spagetti and meatballs, my parents and Margrett were going to order the ribs.

"This meal is on the house," said my father after we made our orders, "I'll pay for all your meals."

"Well thanks dad, but I'll pitch in and pay for our meals too."

"No it's okay Matthew, after all we're treating you guys out tonight, so put away your wallet okay? This meal is on us." I didn't argue with him, I placed my wallet back in my pocket and continued on with the discussions until our meals arrived.

The meals were once again delicous and as he had said, after we were done eating, my dad went up to pay for our meals, but unknown to him, I left an extra tip on the table for our waitress.

"Well Matthew, I hope you guys had a good time out tonight," my father said to us as we walked out of the resturant.

"We did, we had a good time and thanks again for buying our meals. If you want I can repay you back right now..."

"No, you don't need to do that Matthew, like I said, this one was on the house," he smiled. "Anyways, we better head off back to the house, have a safe trip up to Toronto and we hope to see you again soon."

My father walked past us and headed off for the front doors. My mother walked past with that firm look on her face, "bye," that was all she said.

"Well at least she said 'bye' this time," I said quietly.

"Well Matthew, Kaede," Margrett spoke up, "it was nice talking to you again and I hope that you will come back someday."

"We will," Kaede and I said in unison.

Margrett smiled and turned, but before she walked away, she spoke to Daisy and Monty, "it was nice meeting you two...and Monty, take good care of Daisy, don't you hurt her."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Good," and with that, Margrett walked away, saying good bye to us. Once she was out of sight, we headed off back to the motel.

At around seven the next morning, we were getting everything ready for the trip to Toronto. Kaede and I spent most of last night packing up our suitcases and containers and now we were just packing up the last of our stuff and loading everything into the back of the truck.

"So Kaede, did you enjoy your visit here?"

"I did, I had a great time learning about this town and all the towns nearby and getting to meet lots of interesting people," she sighed at that moment, "I almost wish we didn't have to go."

"Yeah I know the feeling, when I was younger, I often wished that we didn't have to leave so soon, cause I really enjoyed visiting this town. Don't worry though Kaede, one of these days we'll come back for another visit, okay?"

"Okay," she smiled, "Matthew, would it be okay if I walked around the motel for a bit and take a few more pictures?"

"Of course it's okay, go ahead and take your pictures, I'll continue packing up. I think the camera is..."

"Right here on the counter where it's been when we're not using it," she said as she pulled the camera out of the bag, "I'll be right back." Before walking out, she blew me a kiss. I blew one right back at her, she giggled and then walked out of the room.

True to my word, I finished packing the last of the suitcases and started loading them into the back of the truck. Daisy had just come out with her suitcases, "hey Matt, isn't that your dad's truck?" she asked.

I looked back and saw a black pick-up coming into the parking lot, "yeah that is my dad's truck, what's he doing here though?"

"Maybe he just wanted to talk to you before we go."

"Yeah maybe...I'm going to go find out. Tell Little Sis and Primula to load their suitcases into the back of the truck, I'll join you guys in a bit." With that confirmed, Daisy walked back to the room while I walked up to the truck, both my mom and dad were climbing out of it, "is everything okay?"

"Yeah everything is okay, we just wanted to talk to you that's all. I believe Lorraine has something she wants to say to you."

"Sorry for leaving you when you needed us the most," she said, "had we known that you lost your job, we would've asked you to come live with us."

"Well thanks, that means a lot to hear you say that," I smiled, "That's all I wanted to hear."

"Good, now you can stop playing your silly little game. You got us. Now tell that girl it's over between you two and come home with us where you rightfully belong."

"What?" I exclaimed in pure shock, "why would you say such a thing?"

"Because we believe that you two are not meant to be together, I mean that girl could do so much better than you," she said rudely, "I know you're just playing a little game of pretend, you're trying to make us believe that you and this girl got married!"

"I'm not playing a game, Kaede and I really did get married and we are meant to be together."

"Oh Matthew, you're just falling for your lies like you did many times when you were a kid."

"Just give up the marriage up Matthew and come live with us," said my dad. Just hearing him say that surprised me, for I thought he had excepted the fact that Kaede and I are a couple.

"I'm telling you, I'm not playing a game, and I'm not lying."

"Just stop it," my mother said firmly, "stop pretending like you're married. Cause when you think about it, no woman would ever want to marry someone like you."

"I'm warning you, if you say one more rude thing, then I'll really snap at you."

"That's just like you Matthew, threatening to snap like you always did when you were a kid, but deep down you're nothing more than a little scared kid who couldn't even hurt a fly. You are pathetic," she said, even my father nodded with her.

Well, just hearing that finally made me snap, "I already told you, I'm not lying!" I shouted, "Kaede and I are meant to be together, in fact we _are_ a married couple, giving up my marriage to her would be the biggest, dumbest mistake I could ever make! I was never happy living with you two, you made my life a living nightmare - Kaede, she turned my life into a dream come true. She loves me for who I am, and I love her for who she is. And as for being pathetic, I don't care what you two think about me, cause there are a lot of people who think differently. Now, I'm going to say this once, I am not giving up my marriage to Kaede and I'll never move in with you again! Now, get out of my sight and don't you ever show your faces in front of me ever again! Do I make myself clear?"

"Matthew..."

"GET LOST!" I snapped.

There was a short pause of silence after my outburst...then my parents walked back to the truck, climbed in and drove away without saying good bye to me. After they left, I took in a few deep breaths to calm myself down, "oh I can't believe this," I sighed quietly to myself, "My dad turns aganist us again and my mother..." I couldn't even finish, "well what a fine way to start the morning."

It was then I felt someone hug me from behind, I looked back to see Kaede with her arms around me.

"Kaede...did you hear...?"

"I heard everything," she answered, "I'm so sorry Matthew. Are you okay?"

"Not really, I thought that maybe in some way that I could patch things with both of my parents and this fighting would stop...I guess I was wrong," I sighed unhappily.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I turned around and wrapped my arms around Kaede, "I also meant what I said about you Kaede, I would never dream of dumping you, it would be the biggest and dumbest mistake I could make. Every day with you is a good day for me...I love you so much Kaede."

"And I love you too Matthew, you make every day special for me," she stood up on her toes and kissed me on the lips. "Feeling better now?" she asked after our kiss.

"Yes, I'm feeling a bit better now, you always know just how to cheer me up. Now, let's get that truck loaded up so we can get going."

"Okay...Matthew, does this blowout mean that you never want to come back to New Liskard."

"No, I still want to come back someday...with you by my side."

"Oh Matthew."

Together, Kaede and I went back to the motel room, got the last of our suitcases into the back of the truck, then we checked the room over one more time to make sure we weren't leaving anything behind. Before we left, Kaede made the beds, "I'm sure the cleaning crew will appearcite that," I said to Kaede.

After that, Kaede took one last picture of the room, then we walked out of the room. Everyone else had gotten their suitcases into their vehicles and were waiting for us to come out, they gave us back the keys, "thanks for suggesting that we come here Matthew," said Michael, "we all had a great time here and I'm sure that we'll be coming back for another visit someday."

"Well I'm glad you guys enjoyed this visit," I smiled, "anyways, after we drop off the keys, we'll go eat at the truck stop, then we'll be on our way. Sounds good?"

"Sounds good," they said in unison.

With that confirmed, everyone else drove off to the truck stop while we drove up to the lobby (for the record, it's Naomi, Primula, Daisy and Monty who is riding with us).

"Did you enjoy your stay with us?" the motel manager asked as I gave back the keys and payed for the rooms.

"Yep, we had a great time visiting."

"That's good. Well have a safe trip to Toronto and have a nice day sir."

"Thank you, you have a nice day too," I smiled. I turned and walked back to the truck, then we drove off to 'Gilley's' truck stop for something to eat before heading out on our way to Toronto.


	20. Back to the Shops

Well my friends, with the New Liskard portion of the trip complete, it's time to get started on the next portion of the trip - the city of Toronto. To start things off, three of the characters take a little trip to Matthew's first workplace, the I.T. Shops of the Toronto Transit Control complex. Now for the record, I haven't visited the complex since 2008, so when I'm describing the area, it's just threw what I remember about the place. As a reminder, this chapter is rated PG with no swearing whatsoever and the date of this chapter continues right where we left off in the 19th chapter, Monday November 8th 2010 and now here's the 20th chapter of...

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 20: Back to the Shops**_

About six and a half hours after leaving New Liskard, we finally arrived in the city of Toronto. Although Lisa, Patrick and Ryan knew the city quite well, I still lead everyone to our hotel. Truth be told, we would've arrived at our hotel six hours after leaving New Liskard, but we ran into a traffic jam.

"Oh man," I groaned, "I've forgotten that there are usually traffic jams on these roads."

"That's alright Matt," Daisy said from the back seat, "there's no real hurry, we're enjoying ourselves and looking at all the sights."

"Says you," groaned Naomi, "we got a little problem..."

"And I think I know what it is. You need to go to the washroom don't you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Naomi didn't answer my question with words, instead she answered me with a nod. "Well you could've gotten out when we stopped in North Bay and then again in Parry Sound, but you insisted on staying in the truck reading your manga book."

"Well excuse me if I'm interested in a good story," she groaned.

"It's alright, just wait a few minutes and we'll be at the hotel...assuming this traffic ever moves."

We had to wait for five minutes, poor Naomi was groaning quite a bit, but soon enough, the traffic started moving again. Thankfully after the wait, we had no trouble getting to our hotel, which this time was a few streets away from Toronto's Union Station.

When we arrived, Naomi said she was coming in with Kaede and myself, "ouch!" she groaned again as she stepped down from the truck, "my legs hurt!"

"They're asleep," muttered Primula.

"That's what you get for not getting out at those stops," teased Monty, but quickly stopped when he saw Daisy looking at him with a firm look.

Anyways, the three of us walked into the hotel's lobby and over to the front desk.

"Excuse me sir," Naomi groaned, "but where's your nearest washroom? I really have to go!"

"Just go to the hallway to your left, then take a right and you'll see the washroom," the man behind the desk said. No sooner had he said that then our Little Sis took off.

"Wow, when she's got to go, she's got to go," I chuckled quietly, "anyhow, I believe we have reservations under the name 'Gagnon'," and like anyways, I spelled out my last name.

"Ah yes, you do have reservations here for multiple rooms, just give me a second to get your keys."

It wasn't long before we had the keys and once we had payed for the rooms, we discussed on the sleeping arrangements. The sleeping arrangements were pretty much the same as it was in New Liskard, except that this time Kikyou was going to stay in the same room with Naomi, Shiori and Yukie.

"Well at least you'll be able to sleep now Patrick," Lisa said to him.

"That'll be good," he yawned, it was clear that he was still tired.

So with the sleeping arrangements made, we headed off to our rooms, once Naomi returned from the washroom.

All of our rooms were on the second floor of the hotel, Kaede and I walked into our room first, "huh, well I think we know which bed we're going to be sleeping in," I chuckled.

"There's only one bed in here," Kaede giggled.

She was right, pretty much every room in this hotel came with one bed, a small pull-out coach, a small table, a big TV (probably a 20" Screen), a big cabinet and a very big washroom too. The entire room itself was roughly the same size of the motel room we stayed in at New Liskard. Anyhow, after checking out the room, Kaede and I went back to the truck to get our stuff.

It only took us about less than seven minutes, then once everything had brought up and put away, we layed down on the bed side by side.

"This is so peaceful," Kaede said sweetly.

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement.

Our peaceful moment wasn't going to last for too long as we heard someone knocking on our door, "Big Bro! Kaede! Are you done unpacking yet?"

"I'll get that," I sighed. I climbed off the bed and walked over to the doorway. Sure enough on the other side of the door was Naomi.

"Are you done unpacking yet?" she asked again, "and what are you up to? If you're not doing anything, can we go check out the city?"

"Man you are just full of questions aren't you? Well in the correct order, yes we've finished unpacking our suitcases, and we were just relaxing and it's up to Kaede if she wants to go out or not," I turned back to my wife, "what do you say Kaede my love? Do you want to check out some of the city?"

"Yes," she nodded, "just let me get my shoes on."

"Alright...and what about you Big Bro? Aren't you going to get your shoes on?"

"Yeah I'm going too," I answered, "just give us a minute."

Now I know what you're thinking, shouldn't we be wearing boots at this time? Well not really, there wasn't much snow on the ground just yet, but from what we heard from the weater reports, Toronto was due to have a snowstorm on Thursday.

"Little Sis, have you finished unpacking yet?"

"Ah...no I haven't," she answered meekily, "ah...maybe I should go finish my unpacking before we go. Be right back..." and just like that, she ran away back to her room.

After a bit of waiting, the three of us headed out towards the city. The city streets certainly were busy, so busy that quite often we had to look back and forth more than a few times before crossing the street.

As we walked along, Naomi asked me, "So where's your old workplace?"

"You mean the TTC building?"

"Yep, that's what I meant."

"It's in a different part of the city," I answered, "it's a bit of a distance away from here. Why? Do you want to see where I worked before?"

"Maybe, I'm just curious that's all."

"Well I guess we could go there, but it's up to Kaede of what she wants to do," I turned my attention back to Kaede, "what do you say Kaede? Do you want to see my old workplace?"

"Yes, I would like to see it," she nodded.

"Very well then, let's get onto one of these streetcars and we'll ride it to the nearest station close to my old workplace."

With that said, we walked up to the closest platform for the streetcars, then we waited. After a minute, the streetcar arrived, "talk about reliable service," Naomi said out loud.

The streetcar slowed to a stop, then once the doors had opened, all of passengers (which included the three of us) climbed in.

Once the passengers were on board, the streetcar started away. Throughout the trip, Naomi would quite often look over her shoulder like she didn't trust the person behind us.

After a few minutes, we arrived at the nearest station close to my old workplace. Naomi got up from her seat, only to have someone grab her right arm, "hey!" she cried.

"Shut up young girl," snickered the man that was sitting in the seat behind her, "now you're coming with me."

"No I'm not!" she cried.

Most of the passengers were ready to just pound this guy, but stopped when they saw him reach into his pocket and point something at them, "should anyone try anything and you'll be sorry."

"No, it's you who's going to be sorry," I said firmly to him. He turned towards me, but he didn't see my face properly, due to the fact that I had punched him in the face and knocked him down. As he fell, his hand had let go of Naomi and she ran till she was behind me, "you alright Little Sis?"

"Yeah I'm fine," she answered, "thanks Big Bro."

The Man groaned for a bit, and tried to get back up, that was until he heard, "you're under arrest," and saw a gun being pointed at him. As luck would have it, the other person pointing the weapon at him...was an off duty police officer.

"Oh dart," groaned the man.

The officer searched him, "he has no weapon," he said to all the passengers, "no gun, no knives, nothing. Still..." he said looking down to the man, "you're under arresst for attempted kidnapping." He slapped the handcuffs on the man, then he took him off the streetcar.

We also stepped out of the streetcar and headed off to the nearest gas station/convenience store.

"Well that was scary," Naomi groaned, "thanks again Big Bro, I had a feeling he would try something."

"But thankfully he didn't, you know I would protect you, Kaede or anyone of our friends or family."

"Yes we know," Kaede and Naomi said in unison.

Of course I did say sorry to Kaede for breaking my promise to her again, "I'll make it up to you, I promise. Just name whatever you want me to do."

"How about just holding my hand," she said sweetly while holding out her right hand.

"Okay," I nodded and grabbed her right hand softly with my left hand. Of course as you can guess, Naomi was going to say something in a cheeky way, but didn't when she saw the firm look on my face.

Before going to the TTC building, we had a little snack and something to drink.

When we were done, we walked up to the front enterance. The TTC complex has several buildings, the first one is a very big building which, from what I remember, was the main building where most of the offices can be found, then the second building holds more offices and a big room where most of the meetings take place (I know this because I often helped to set things up for the meetings), the third building is a big garage where they maintain the streetcars, subways and the buses too.

Next to the front gate to the right is a small office which houses most of the equipment and whatever else is brought in until they can be taken to the respective buildings they need to go to and then there is the I.T. building, my former work place. In this building, they have big storage rooms, a big room where Toronto Transit Control can keep an eye on all activity on the TTC network and then there was the room where all repairs are done on computer systems and for the big screen in the other room.

Anyways, we walked up to the gate and right away, the person in the booth smiled, "Matthew Gagnon, my gosh it's been a long time since I've seen you."

"Yeah it has been a while."

"Two years and five months to be honest," the man chuckled, "so what brings you back here?"

"Well I'm here to say hello to some old friends, and I also brought along my little sister and my wife to meet them. Can we go in to see them?"

"Of course you can, just let me give you these V.I.P. passes and I'll inform Mister Taylor that you're going up to see him." He handed the V.I.P. passes to us, then he called the I.T. Shop to let them know that we were coming up.

Mr. Delroy Taylor, my former boss, was waiting inside the lobby when we arrived, "Matthew Gagnon, it's been too long."

"Indeed it has sir," I smiled and shook his hand.

"So are you thinking of coming to work with us again?"

"No sorry I can't, you see I live far away from here and I already have a job."

"Oh well that's too bad, we really enjoyed working with you. So who are these two ladies with you?"

"Well the young red head you see here is Naomi Fuyou, our little adopted sister and this," I said while looking over to my wife, "is my beautiful wife, Kaede Gagnon."

"Hello," Kaede said kindly, "it's nice to finally meet you, Matthew told me all about you and your crew."

"Well it's nice to meet you," said Delroy, then he turned to face me, "so where did you meet this young lady?"

"Well..." and so I told him the whole story as we went upstairs to the second floor. By the time we got to the second floor, I had finished (for the record, I tell a shorter version of the story) and of course Delroy said 'you poor soul' after I had finished. "So I have to ask, are Scott, Wayne, Pete and Mike still working in the shop?"

"Oh yes they're still working in there," he answered with a nod, "and I know they'll be glad to see you again."

Now there are two ways of getting inside the shop, one is to ring the doorbell and wait for someone inside the shop to get the door (which is what I used to do) or let a scanner scan your card and let you in, which is what Delroy did.

Once inside the shop, he called out, "hey boys, look who's back!"

All four of them came walking up and were surprised to see me, "hey Matthew, it's been too long buddy, where have you been?" they asked me all together. Well of course I told them of where I've been and my story and yes they all said 'you poor soul' afterwords.

"And who are the young beautiful ladies with you?" Pete asked.

Naomi and Kaede blushed a bit when they heard that, then they introduced themselves. Naomi was first and then Kaede spoke up, "I'm Kaede Fu...ah Gagnon, I'm Matthew's wife," she said.

"Oh so you're Kaede," said Scott.

"Huh?" Kaede looked at him confused, "you've heard of me?

"Yes, Matthew told us about a girl he met on the chatroom, a sweet kind girl that lives in Tokyo Japan, he would talk alot about you," again Kaede blushed, but this time into a deeper shade of red.

"And he still does," Naomi piped up, "he's often mentions her whenever he's at work."

Okay this time it was me who was blushing, "well hey a guy can talk about the girl he loves anytime he wants right?" Pretty much everyone nodded in answer to my question.

"So Matthew, what brings you and your little family here?" Mike asked.

"Well I wanted to show them of where I used to work and show them of what I used to do."

"Well in that case, allow us to give you a little tour and give you some demostrations of what we do here," said Pete.

"You really mean it?" I asked, all five nodded their heads, "thanks guys, this means a lot."

First up, Pete took us to the back area (just past the shops and down a long hallway) where they maintain the big screens in the other room and showed Kaede and Naomi of how they maintain the screens, then Scott showed off some of the repair work that needs to be done on some computers.

"Do you remember how to do this Matthew?" he asked.

"Yep, I remember how to do that," I nodded, "although it's been quite a while since I last did any of that type of work, so I might be a little rusty."

"Well there's only one way to find out, why don't you give it a try," he suggested.

"Alright, I'll give it a try," I said.

Although it's been over a year since I last did any work on repairing computers, I actually did quite well with repairing that computer, "You still got it Matthew," smiled Wayne. He then turned his attention to Kaede, "you know, Matthew actually helped to repair more three quarters of the computers that were brought in here when he was working with us."

"Let me guess, he worked at a 110%, am I right?" Naomi asked.

"Oh yeah, he always worked at a 110% every single day," said Mike, "he really proved it once when he was working in the other building and he finished a two week job in just two days."

"Hey it wasn't just me who was working there, it was team effort for that job. We all worked hard to get the work done."

"Hmm, yeah that's true," Mike nodded.

Following that little discussion, we were taken inside the main office where we got to see every operation that goes on in there, commucations with the crews of the buses, subways and streetcars, and then there was the surveillance screens which showed all the action going on in the stations.

"Uh, what's with the camera on the wall?" Naomi asked as she looked over to the direction of the camera, "is it for security or something?"

"It's not for security," Pete answered and looked over to me, "you remember what that camera was used for right?"

"Yep, when it's activated, it allows whoever is standing in front of the camera to inform viewers who watch the CP24 news network of what's going on the TTC network."

"Correct," smiled Pete, "glad to see to see you still remember."

"Yeah...hey is Mika still working here?"

"No she's not, she's gone to work at CP24."

"Oh man, I was hoping to introduce her to Kaede and Little Sis. Oh well," I sighed quietly to myself.

Pete and Mike showed us of some of the work that goes on in this room and as an extra bonus, we got to watch as another person stood in front of the camera and speak out to the public.

"That is so cool," Naomi said quietly, "I've always wanted to be in front of a camera like that, I bet it's exciting." For a while afterwords until the camera was turned off, Naomi didn't look anywhere else and she didn't say a word, I think she was dreaming about what it would be like to be in front of a television camera.

Anyways, after that little tour, we went down to the supply room, and just as I had remembered, it was freaking cold in that room. The room itself holds lots of supplies from computer stuff to tools and equipment that will be taken to the second or third floors. As an extra bonus, we not only got a tour of the main building I used to work in, but we also got to check out the other buildings in the entire lot. At each place, the workers explained about their work to us, it was quite educational (even Naomi had to admit that).

After the tour, we talked with Pete, Wayne, Mike, Scott and Delory until around five O'Clock when most of the workers were leaving to go home for the evening.

"Thank you for showing us around today," Kaede said to them as we were getting ready to leave, "We really enjoyed learning about what you do here."

"Well it was our pleasure to show you around," Mike said kindly.

"And it was great seeing you again Matthew," added Pete, "come by to visit us anytime you want before you head off to America."

"I'll try," I smiled, "and it was great seeing you guys too, thank you for giving up some time to show us around."

After saying goodbye, the three of us walked off to the front gate, handed back our V.I.P. passes, then we headed off to the nearest streetcar station, "so Little Sis, did you enjoy this little outing?"

"Yeah, well except for what happened earlier with that nutcase, this little day out has been pretty good...hey do you think we could go to that Ontario Science Centre I heard so much about?"

"I don't think so, not today," I answered.

"Oh and why not?" she pouted.

"Well it's getting late Naomi, so I think they might be closing up for the night," said Kaede.

"Tell you what Little Sis, if you want, we can go there tomorrow," I said, "I know the way to the Science Centre, so we can all go there if you want."

Naomi thought about it, then spoke up, "sure why not," she said while yawning, "Truth be told, I want to go back to the hotel and get some rest, it's been a long day."

"Indeed it has," I agreed.

Within moments, the streetcar had arrived and lucky for us, there was no trouble on the way back. We got off at our proper stop without incident, then we walked back to the hotel.

"Well, thanks again for the wonderful afternoon out," Naomi said when we got back, "but now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to crash on the bed, see you later."

"See you later Naomi," Kaede called sweetly.

"You know that's not a bad idea," I said, "what do you say Kaede? You want to rest for a bit before we go to dinner?"

"Yes," she nodded with her angel like smile showing.

So once we got into the room and had taken off our shoes, I climbed onto the bed first, then Kaede climbed on, kissed me on the left side of my face and rested her head on my chest. I smiled at her and kissed her on her forehead, then we closed our eyes at the same time and went to sleep for a little nap.


	21. Out on the City

Well after an absense of four months since the last chapter, I'm proud to present another installment of the sequel series of 'My Kinda Life'. I've been a little busy with my other story projects over the last few months, plus I didn't really have anymore ideas for the 'Our Kinda Trip' series until now. As noticed in the last few chapters, I've been focusing alot of attention on 'Matthew, Kaede and Naomi', but in this chapter, I'm going to give the other characters some time in the spotlight, so it means that some portions of this chapter will be in third person narration. As a reminder, the rating of this series is PG with no swearing included and I'm dedicating this chapter to my friends, online and in real life. Anyhow, that's enough chatter from yours truely, hope you'll enjoy reading the 21st episode of...

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 21: Out on the City**_

Kaede and I slept in our bed until around Seven P.M. At which time we were both woken up by loud knocking at the door, "it's got to be Little Sis again," I muttered, "that girl's got too much energy." I climbed off the bed slowly and walked over to the doorway, but when I opened the door, there was no one out in the hallway.

"Who is it Matthew?" Kaede asked from the room.

"I don't...ow!" I cried as I felt someone slap me hard on the back, which knocked me down on my knees again. The slap on the back was an easy giveaway, it was Lisa.

"Hello," Lisa said in her usual cheerful way, "did I surprise you Matthew?"

"Actually, I had a strong feeling it was you knocking at the door."

"Yeah right, you didn't know I was outside your room," she giggled and walked into the room to speak with Kaede. "Hey Kaede, what have you and Matthew been doing since we arrived? Have you two been kissing up a storm in here?"

"No," Kaede giggled, "we went out for a little while shortly after we arrived."

"Oh really? Where did you guys go?"

"We went to my old workplace at the Toronto Transit Control," I answered as I walked into the room, "the guys at the I.T. Shops gave all of us a tour of the building, which hasn't changed a bit since my last day of working there, plus they showed us of what kind of jobs they do there."

"It was a great tour," said Kaede, "both Naomi and I learned alot and we also got the chance with Matthew's former boss and coworkers after the tour was done."

"Well it's good to know you've been having a good day so far," Lisa then turned around to face me with an angry stare upon her face, "but you couldn't invite me to come along? I would've loved to see the place for myself."

"Sorry Lisa, I didn't think." She was about to say something, but I interupted, "don't even think about it."

"I wasn't going to say anything mean."

"Yeah right," I said with a raised eyebrow, "well how about you come along with us to dinner? Will that make up for not inviting you to come along with us earlier?"

"Yeah I think that will do quite nicely, as I long as I get to pick the place."

"Of course you can pick out the place. Just name where and what it is and that's where we'll go."

"Alright, I'll tell you when we get into the truck, now come on slowploke!" and just like that, Lisa ran out of the room and just as suddenly, we heard her run smack into someone and fall to the ground.

"And normally it's me who runs into someone, not Lisa," I whispered to Kaede.

We grabbed our jackets and ran out of the room to see who Lisa had run into. Both she and Sakura were on the ground, "are you two alright?" Kaede asked.

"I'm fine," groaned Lisa, "sorry about that Sakura, are you hurt?."

"No I'm not hurt Lisa. I'm alright and there's no need to say sorry, this could've happened to anyone." Sakura got to her feet first, then she helped Lisa to her feet, "where are you going in such a big hurry anyways?"

"I was just trying to beat Matthew to his truck, I'm going out with him and Kaede tonight."

"Oh yeah? Where are you guys going to?"

"East Side Mario's Resturant," she answered simply.

"And why didn't you tell us that back in the room?" I asked.

"You know why," she said with a sly grin on her face, "I like to surprise you guys." She giggled while I rolled my eyes, same old Lisa. She then turned back to face Sakura, "what about you Sakura? Where are you going?"

"Well it's funny you should mention 'East Side Mario's' cause that's where Michael and I are going."

"Where is Michael?" Kaede asked, "I don't see him anywhere."

"He went back to the room, he forgot something...ah, here he comes now."

Sure enough, Michael was running up towards us, "sorry about that Sakura, I forgot my wallet. That would've been an embarrassing moment for us, but now that I got it right here in my pocket, we can get going."

"Hang on a second Michael, since we're all going out to East Side Mario's, why don't you two come along with us?" I suggested, "it'd make much better sense if we went together than going seperate ways."

"You're always welcome to join us," added Kaede.

"Well if you guys are sure, then we're more than glad to join you three..." he paused and looked down the hallway.

"Don't tell me, she's already getting a head start on us."

"She's got a head start on us," he nodded. I spun round and saw Lisa running towards the elevators, "She just can't wait. Come on Sakura, let's see if we can beat her to the first floor."

"Right behind you Michael," and without saying another word, Michael and Sakura took off to the stairwell with Kaede and I running closely behind.

Meanwhile, at the CN Tower, Sia and Dave were looking out at the entire city, "it's beautiful," Sia sighed happily, "I've heard about how beautiful this city is, but to see it before my own eyes, I'm just amazed by it. Words really can't describe the beauty."

"Well I'm glad you like it so far," smiled Dave.

"Still, I can't believe how high this tower is, it's a good thing I don't have a fear of heights. Otherwise I wouldn't be looking at this view or looking down through the glass floor. Hey Dave, just out of curiousity, this glass is strong right?"

"Oh yeah, it's very strong. They wouldn't let people up here if it wasn't."

"Yeah that's a good point...hey, isn't that your brother down there?"

Dave looked down to the ground through the glass floor. Since both he and Sia were all the way at the top of the tower, he could barely see the people at the bottom, but after straining his eyes a few times, he finally saw his brother, "yeah it is Daryl and he's with Nerine, you really got a good eye there Sia. I guess they're coming up to see the city from the top of the tower."

"Probably..." It was only then that they heard Sia's stomach growling, very loudly, "I guess I shouldn't have skipped lunch today and I didn't pack any snacks into my purse, of all the rotten luck!" she groaned.

"Don't worry Sia, I packed a few snacks in my backpack before we left the hotel and I'll be more than glad to share some with you."

"Thanks Dave," Sia smiled and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the left side of his face, which made him blush into a small shade of red. After a moment, Dave pulled out a chocolate bar, broke it into two pieces and gave one end to Sia, then the two of them walked over to another part of the observation deck to view another part of the city.

Not too far away from the CN Tower, I was driving the truck with all five of us to the East Side Mario's resturant. Now I'll admit, I've never really gone to an East Side Mario's in Toronto (I've only been to the resturants in Stouffville and Markville), but Lisa had, so she was leading us to the resturant, "ow! Watch it Michael, you're poking your elbow in my side!"

"Sorry Lisa, I'm just trying to get comfortable back here."

"Yeah sorry about that guys, the back seat of my truck isn't really big enough for three people," I said, "on our way back, one of you guys can sit up here with us."

"I like the sound of that," groaned Lisa, "cause I'm not enjoying having Michael poking me in the ribs."

After a while, we finally pulled up to the parking lot of the East Side Mario's resturant, I think Lisa was more than glad to have arrived, "I felt like a sandwich back there," she groaned as she got out. We walked up a pathway and turned left towards the doorway. Being a kind gentleman, Michael held the door open for all of us.

"Welcome to East Side Mario's," said a waitress as we walked in, "are you all going to be sitting together?"

"Yep, we're all going to be sitting together," I answered.

"Table or booth?"

"Table please," Kaede, Sakura and Lisa all said in unison. Amazing how great minds think alike, don't you think?

The waitress picked up five menus, then she lead us to a table in the bar area. Lisa, Kaede and I sat on the bench, which strecthes along a wall in between two doorways while Michael and Sakura sat on the long legged bar chairs, "here are your menus, I'll be back to take your orders," and with that, the waitress walked away.

She was hardly out of sight when Michael spotted a familar face, "uh bro, someone very familar just stepped into the resturant."

"And who would that be?"

"Oh let's see, he's one of the few people we got into occassional fights with back in elementary school."

"That could be anyone Michael, can you give me another hint?"

"He has blonde scruffy looking hair, does that ring a bell to you?"

"Not really, but I'll check anyways..." I turned and looked, "holy smokes, it's David! I don't believe this."

"Who's David?" Sakura asked curiously.

"David was one of the school bullies back in elementary school," Lisa answered, "he's one of the few people who used to beat Matthew up alot and he's one of a few bullies we fought with after the five of us became Matthew's friend. I haven't seen that guy in years."

"Neither have I and I personally hope he doesn't come over here."

That however was just wishful thinking as he was brought over to the bar. He sat down and ordered something, then he spun round, it was clear that he saw me as he came in, "Matthew Gagnon?"

"I'm sorry, but you got me mistaken for someone else."

"Oh come on, I know it's you Matthew. It might've been years since I last saw you, but I still remember that face."

"Yeah and the only reason you recognize his face is because you still want to pound him," Lisa said angerily.

"I see things haven't changed since I last saw you Matthew, you're still hanging out with Lisa and Michael..." he then paused as he looked over towards Kaede, "and with some new friends I can see, who are the girls?"

"I'm Sakura Yae."

"And I'm Kaede Fuy...uh Gagnon, I'm Matthew's wife," Kaede quickly corrected herself.

"Then again some things do change with you Gagnon."

"Say his first name you idiot!" snapped Lisa.

"That's enough Lisa, we don't need to start a fight here in the resturant," I said. I then turned my attention back to David, "so what have you been doing since I last saw you? Still doing what you used to do?"

"As a matter of fact...no, I have not. Shortly after our last encounter, I got into a lot of trouble for picking on another person and pushing them down one of the hills at the Stouffville park and nearly smashing into a tree. That person could've gotten seriously hurt because of me and it got me thinking 'what was I doing? I might end up hurting someone someday or worse', so I changed my ways, became a top ranked student in Stouffville High and after college, I got into the business of helping to make computers, which is what I am doing to this day."

"You have changed since I last saw you haven't you?"

"Yes I have and Matthew, I apologize if I ever hurt you. I know it might take you years to forgive me, but I hope that someday we could put the past behind us and maybe be friends. Till then, it was nice seeing you again."

With that said, David turned back to his seat, "it's not everyday that happens," I thought to myself, "if David could change into a better person, then maybe there's hope for all of them."

"Matthew," Kaede whispered to me, "are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm alright Kaede, I was just thinking about our meet with David here. What happened today is something that doesn't happen too often in my life, many of my old enemies never ask for forgiveness."

"Well it can happen."

"My thoughts excatly."

"Oh and sorry about earlier, I'm still getting used to say that my last name is 'Gagnon'."

"It's okay Kaede," I whispered back, "it just takes a little time."

When our waitress returned, we ordered our drinks first, then we ordered our meals. Of course as you can guess, Kaede and I had two bowls of spaghetti and meatballs while Lisa ordered a small pizza and as for Michael and Sakura, they ordered steaks, "alright then, is that everything?" she asked afterwords. We all nodded at the same time, "I'll be back with your drinks and orders," with that said, she turned and walked off to the kitchen while the five of us talked about our day.

Back at the CN Tower, Sia and Dave had just gotten off the elevator and were now walking past the Skydome, "is that a hockey arena?" Sia asked curiously.

"Nope, it's a baseball arena where the Blue Jays often face off aganist other baseball teams. The arena for the Toronto Maple Leafs is just down the road, why do you ask Sia? Do you want to see a hocky game?"

"No thanks, I was just being curious."

"Oh okay, I was just wondering. Now I hope you don't mind if I ask this, but do you like hockey?"

"Dave, you can ask me any question you want, you have the right to know and the answer to your question is yes, I love hockey. I've always been fascinated with hockey ever since I first moved to Earth back in 2008. I love it when the players skate down the ice, trying hard to keep the puck away from the other team and then when they score a goal, the crowds go wild...it's just amazing. I wish I could play a hockey game myself, but I don't think I'd be any good."

"Well you never know until you try."

"Yeah I guess so."

"Tell you what, when the snow does come to Toronto and the ponds freeze over with ice, how about I teach you how to play hockey?"

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah," Dave nodded, "I'd be more than glad to teach you."

Sia started blushing into a shade of red, but this time, she didn't hide her face from Dave, "thanks Dave, that's real sweet of you to offer," she said cheerfully and wrapped both her arms around Dave's left arm as the two walked off down the road.

Back in the observation area of the tower, Nerine and Daryl were still looking out at the city and looking up to the star filled sky. Although as they were looking outside the tower, Nerine noticed that some people were staring at her.

"Why are they looking at me like that?" she asked Daryl.

"I think it has a lot to do with your ears, no offence intended. Some people don't know about the realm of the gods or the realm of the demons, so they've never seen people with ears as long as yours."

"Probably because not too many people from my realm have moved to Toronto or any place in Canada. I get it now and it's a relief, I thought it was something else they were staring at."

With that confirmed, the two of them continued looking out at the city and eventually, the rest of the visitors in the tower started looking out the windows instead of at Nerine.

A little later at the East Side Mario's resturant, we had finished our meals, leaving nothing on the plates, "ohh, I don't think I can eat another bite," groaned Michael.

"Yeah I know the feeling," said Lisa, "I think I ate too much as well, maybe I shouldn't have eaten so many pieces of garlic bread. Thanks for treating me out guys, this was really good."

"It was our pleasure Lisa," Kaede smiled, "we're glad you enjoyed your meal."

"Will that be everything?" asked our waitress when she came for our plates.

"Yep, that's everything."

"Okay then, now is this going to be on one check?"

"Better make it two," Michael answered.

"Okay then, I'll be right back," with that said, the waitress walked away. She returned less than a minute later with the two checks. Michael payed for his and Sakura's check first, then I payed for the rest of us. Once we had payed for our meals, we climbed back into the truck and drove off back to the hotel, this time with Lisa riding in the front seat with us.

During the drive back, I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw that Sakura had her head resting on Michael's left shoulder and he had his left hand on her left shoulder.

"Hey Kaede, look over to the back seat for a second," I whispered.

She looked back and smiled, "aww, how adorable," she said. A moment or so later, Kaede rested her head on my right shoulder, "you don't mind do you?"

"No, I don't mind at all," I smiled.

Throughout the rest of the drive back to the hotel, Kaede continued to rest her head on my shoulder and even had a little nap. When she opened her eyes, she found that we were pulling into the hotel's parking lot.

"Hey Kaede, we're back," I whispered to her, "are you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake," she whispered back.

"Well that was great," smiled Lisa, "I had a good time, thanks again guys, I'll see you tomorrow," and with that, Lisa climbed out of the truck and walked over to the hotel. Michael and Sakura also thanked us for the ride and for the night out, then they climbed out and walked back to the hotel.

As Kaede and I were getting out of the truck, I spotted Sia and Dave coming into the parking lot, "hey Matthew, Kaede, where did you guys go?" Sia asked.

"We went out to East Side Mario's with Lisa, Michael and Sakura," I answered, "but now we're kinda stuffed, tired and ready to go to bed."

"What about you two?" Kaede asked, "what have you been doing?"

"We've been walking around for a bit," Sia answered, "and we also got a chance to see the CN Tower where we got the greatest view of the city."

"Sounds like you guys a good time out tonight."

"Yeah we did, but what I enjoyed most about today was getting to spend some time with Dave," she smiled happily and grabbed her boyfriend's left hand, then she rubbed a small patch of skin on his hand (sounds familar doesn't it).

"Do you know what Sia?"

"What Dave?"

"I was going to say the same thing, cause being with you today was the best part of the day."

"Oh Dave," Sia stood up on her toes, then she kissed Dave into a light shade of red, all the while, Kaede and I didn't say a single word, we didn't want to ruin the moment for them.

Before going up with Sia and Dave, I checked to make sure the doors were locked on the truck, then the four of us took an elevator ride to our floor and walked over to our rooms.

"I wonder if my brother and Nerine are back yet," said Dave.

"Don't know," said Sia, "we'll find out once we get in there," she then turned her attention back to us, "good night you two, we'll see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning," Kaede and I said in unison, "sweet dreams," added Kaede.

"Thanks," Dave called back as he opened the door, a moment or so later, we heard them talking with Nerine and Daryl.

A short while later, Kaede and I were laying on our bed after we had gotten changed into our pajamas, we were laying on that bed side by side while watching the TV with the volume down low, "well I have to say that we've had quite an interesting day, don't you think Kaede?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"First there was that blowout with my parents, then we visited my old workplace and finally we met up with an old bully from my elementary school days, only now he's not a bully anymore. Yep, something tells me this portion of the trip is definetly going to be eventful."

"I have to agree with you there," Kaede said before yawning.

"Ready to go to sleep Kaede?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "I'll see you in the morning Matthew."

"I'll see _you _in the morning Kaede," I said with a wink of my right eye. Kaede of course giggled when I did that, "I love you."

"And I love you too." We both kissed on the lips for less than thirty seconds, then we closed our eyes and went off to sleep, dreaming about some of the good times we have shared since we first met.


	22. Ontario Science Centre

One of my favourite places in the City of Toronto Ontario is the Ontario Science Centre and with that said, in this very chapter, the gang is going to visit the centre. For many it will be their first time. Although some changes were made to the Science Centre over the years, I decided to show what the Ontario Science Centre was like from my childhood years back in the 1990's before some of the exhibits were removed and new ones were added in. Now for the many of you who like keeping track of the timeline in the story, the date of this chapter is Tuesday November 9th 2010 and the rating is still the same. Now before we begin, as a little hint for the next episode, in case any of you are wondering, it's going to be a chapter focusing on one of our favourite character's birthdays, but that's all I can say, the rest you'll just have to find out for yourselves.

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 22: Ontario Science Centre**_

Naomi woke up the following next morning full of excitment, "I'm going to the Ontario Science Centre, oh I can't wait. Do you think my Big Bro and sister are up yet?"

"I don't know Naomi," Yukie answered with a yawn, "they might be up."

"It's still early Naomi," added Shiori, "why don't you get some sleep and then get up later?"

"Who can sleep when you're going to be going to one of Toronto's best attractions?"

"Well try," Yukie yawned again, "it is six thirty-eight after all."

"No it's not six thirty-eight, it's eight thirty six."

Shiori looked at the clock they have in their room, then she looked down to the floor and Naomi's sleeping bag. She quickly put two and two together, "you were looking at the clock upside down from your sleeping bag, just look at the clock."

Naomi looked back and saw that the correct time was six thirty nine, "oh, so it is," she said meekily, "sorry about that."

"It's fine Naomi, now can you please be quiet?" Yukie yawned for the third time that morning, "we're still sleeping."

"Alright, I'll try to be quiet." Naomi tried hard, but she was very impatient and the longer she waited for everyone to get up, the more she wanted to scream: 'I want to go now!'.

But she didn't scream and soon her patience payed off when everyone was getting up. She quickly got changed into the clothes she wanted to wear that day, then she walked over to our room and pounded on the door, "Big Bro! Kaede! Are you two up yet?"

"Geez, make a little noise why don't you?" I called from inside the room. I walked over to the door and answered it, "any louder and you'll have the hotel manager coming up here and yelling at us."

"Sorry, I didn't know I was making that much noise," she didn't sound like she meant it, "now are you guys ready to go?"

"No we're not ready yet."

"What? Why?"

"Well Kaede's taking her bath right now and I still got to get ready."

"Oh for pete's sake!" Naomi groaned and stormed past me, then plopped onto the bed, "your wife takes long baths and you take forever in the washroom."

"Hey I do not and for your information, Kaede loves taking bathes and I'm not going to rush her," I said firmly. "Now listen, I know you're excited, but just remember one thing, I'm the one who's going to be driving there and if you don't behave yourself, Kaede and I can leave you behind."

"Okay then, I won't rush you guys," she muttered, then she added, "you know, you sounded like a father just now."

"I was?"

"Yeah you were."

"Huh, I didn't know I was doing that."

"Doing what Matthew?" asked a voice from behind me. It was Kaede, she was coming out of the bathroom with a towel on top of her head and another one wrapped around herself.

"Oh Little Sis was saying that I was sounding like a father figure when I was talking to her."

"Really? What were you two talking about?"

"Well Little Sis was just being a little impatient and a little rude and I had to be firm with her," I looked over my right shoulder back to Naomi, "isn't that right Little Sis?"

"Yeah it's true," she sighed, "and I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I'll let it slide this time, just don't do that again."

"I won't, I promise."

"Good," I then turned back to Kaede, "are you done in the washroom?"

"Yep I'm done," she nodded, "you can use the washroom now Matthew."

"Okay then, I won't take too long."

With that said, I grabbed the clothes I had picked out long before Naomi came into the room, then I walked over to the washroom, leaving the two girls to talk for a bit.

After fifteen minutes, we were finally ready to go to the Ontario Science Centre. As we walked into the lobby, we found Asa and Rin sitting on one of the couches and talking, "hey guys, are you going out again?" Asa asked as she looked over towards us.

"Yep, we're going out again," I said.

"Boy you're a lucky little girl Naomi," Rin said to her, "your big brother in law and sister are kind enough to let you go along with them. I've heard that most older siblings don't want to be seen with their younger siblings and don't even ask them to go along with them."

"Yeah I guess I am lucky," she said, looking up to us with a smile on her face.

"What are you two doing to do today?" Kaede asked curiously.

"We don't know," said Rin, "Asa and I aren't sure of where we should go today."

"Well if you want my tip on where to go," I said, "you could either try the Royal Ontario Museum or go to the Ontario Science Centre, like us. Both places are very educational and interesting to visit, plus as far as I know, nothing's changed a bit."

"Well both places do sound interesting. What do you think Rin? Which one would you like to visit?"

"I think we should visit..." he paused and thought about it.

"Darn it, I hate the silence before the answer," muttered Naomi.

"...the Royal Ontario Museum," Rin finally said.

"Alright then, the ROM it is."

"Excellent choice you two," I said, "you won't be disappointed with your decision."

"And if you are, you can always beat up my big brother," joked Naomi. I stared down at Naomi with a firm stare, but she pretended like I wasn't giving her the look.

Asa and Rin chuckled quietly, then after thanking me for the suggestion, they headed off to Rin's van.

After they had left, we got into the truck and drove off to the Ontario Science Centre. Of course, we did run into a minor traffic jam, but once we had gotten past that, the rest of the drive to the centre was trouble-free and smooth too.

"Wow," gasped Naomi, "is that really the Ontario Science Centre?"

"Yep, that's the Science Centre."

"Wicked cool," she said with eyes wide open. I looked over to her with a confused look, I've never heard her say something like that before, "what's inside the big dome Big Bro?"

"That dome is actually the Ontario Science Centre's IMAX movie theatre."

"Seriously? That thing is freaking huge!"

"Yes it is, but just wait till we get inside the theatre, the movies that play on the screen are humongous and...well, I better not say anymore, you'll soon find out what's it like."

After arriving and parking the truck, we walked up to the building. Again, Naomi's little brown eyes opened wide in surprise as she stared at the enterance hallway. She looked like she was about to take off, "hold your horses there Little Sis, we need to pay to get in."

"Oh right, sorry," she said meekily.

Kaede giggled quietly, but tried to hide the fact that she was giggling.

There were about four open ticket windows and yet there was a long line-up to get into the centre. Naomi didn't mind this at all mostly because this gave her a chance to look at the movie posters, "which movie are we going to watch?" she asked.

"I don't know, there are so many good choices here."

"Yeah I bet they are...hey Big Bro, are these movies like the movies you would watch in a smaller movie theatre?"

"Not excatly, these movies are like documentaries that explain about whatever they're talking about."

"Oh okay..." Naomi paused and looked at the posters. She shook her head at a few of them until she saw one that looked interesting, "that one looks amazing, a roller coaster movie. Can we watch that?"

"Well it depends if Kaede would like to see that," I turned my attention back to my wife, "what do you say? Do you want to see that movie?"

"Uh..." Kaede went silent as she stared at the poster with a nervous look.

"If you feel a little sick," I whispered to her, "you can always close your eyes or hold onto my hand, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered back, then she answered my previous question, "Sure, we can watch that movie."

"Great!" cheered Naomi.

Finally our wait was over and we got our tickets for both the movie and to get into the Ontario Science Centre, "enjoy your visit," said the person behind the counter.

"I'm sure we will," Naomi said cheerfully and took off without us.

"She won't get far," I whispered to Kaede, "she forgot her ticket."

We walked up the stairwell to the top floor and sure enough, we found Naomi waiting by the doorways leading to the enterance hallways, "uh, sorry about that, got too excited again."

"It's okay, it happens," I said, "now this time, please don't run away from us."

"Okay," she sighed, "I won't run away from you." Somehow, I didn't believe her words.

To begin our day at the Ontario Science Centre, after giving our tickets to the employees at the enterance way before the hallways, we took a look at rocks that were well over 4000 years old. Next, we took a look at the Roller Coaster exhibit on the main floor, then we went down the escalators to the next floor.

When you go down one of the escalators, you can look outside and if you're really lucky, you just might see some wildlife out there. Kaede was really lucky, "look over there," Kaede said with an excited tone in her voice, "there's a chipmunk."

"Hey yeah there is a chipmunk and I see a woodpecker on one of the trees," said Naomi.

She pointed to the tree she was looking at and sure enough, Kaede and I saw a woodpecker making a hole in the tree, "they must be getting ready for their winter sleep," said Kaede.

"They must be," I said, "cause you don't usually see them during this time of the month."

We finally got to the next floor, only to discover that the exhibits were closed off, "sorry folks, we're doing a little remodeling in there so this portion is closed off for the day," said one of the workers.

"Well that's a downer," groaned Naomi.

"Never mind Little Sis, there's still plenty to see in this centre."

On the next floor were several carpets from the early years, probably from the 1800's or earlier, I don't really know. Then there was the next floor with plenty of exhibits down there.

The first stop was the transportation exhibit, "hey look Big Bro, they got trains here."

"That's good," I smiled. Sitting in the middle of the room and sitting on it's own track was a life sized tank engine, but missing one half of it.

"Why is it missing it's other half?"

"Well Little Sis, it's to show you how a steam engine works," I said, "you see where the firebox is? Well with it's help and what's put inside it, like coal for example, it heats the water, which then goes into the postions making them move and from their movement, the steam engine moves."

"Oh okay I get it now."

Near to where the tank engine was sitting stood a broken van, all smashed to pieces. There was a video monitor showing it's crash tests, "according to this," Kaede was saying, "they smashed up the vehicle to see if it leaks gas."

"It must've, considering all the damage caused to it," said Naomi.

In the same area were rocket ships, planes and even a hot air balloon which went up and down.

After that, we went over to the rainforest area of the centre and no I'm not kidding, there is an actual rainforest inside the building. "No matter how times I used to come in here," I was saying, "I keep forgetting how hot it is in this room."

"Feels about the same as the heat wave we had back in the summer," groaned Naomi.

We didn't stay in the rainforest for too long, instead we walked out of that section and checked out the underwater exhibits. This portion explained about the creatures that live under the water.

When we were done looking around there, we went over to another section of the centre with two themes in there. One theme was a technology area with plenty of computers and other pieces of technology, then the other theme was all about structures, like bridges for example.

"See Naomi, even though it's secured in place, the bridge can actually move, just watch."

Naomi and Kaede watched from the far end of the bridge in that hall. I got to the middle part of the bridge and started to jump on it. A little dail on the wall showed that the bridge was indeed moving, just a little bit as I jumped on it.

"Okay, I did not know that, I always thought bridges were stationary objects and did not move."

"Well now you know differently," I said.

There was just one thing that Naomi did not like, it was a small cave that stood in between two rooms. Naomi's never liked places like that mostly because she doesn't know what could be hiding in there.

"It's okay Naomi, we're right here beside you," said Kaede and held out her right hand towards her.

"There's nothing to be afraid of in there," I added while holding out my left hand to her.

She grabbed both of our hands, then after showing us a brave face, we walked into the cave. It was difficult to see in there as it was quite dark, Naomi looked around nervously, but she never once let go of our hands. Finally, we saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Naomi sighed with relief as we walked out, "thanks guys, that really helped."

"Always glad to help," I smiled.

We continued our tour around the place, but all too soon, it was time for us to head up to the IMAX theatre. We went up all the escalators, then walked back into the hallway, only to discover a large crowd waiting to get in.

"It was be a popular movie if there are lots of people here," I said.

"Not to mention the fact that it's huge," gasped Naomi as she looked in a certain direction.

Kaede and I both looked and saw the film room where they kept the projector and the IMAX films. The films were indeed very large, if you had to guess the size of each frame, I'd say they were about the size of an adult hand.

"Well for big screens like the IMAX theatre they do need big rolls of film just like that one," I said, "oh and one more thing I forgot to mention, it's going to be a bit loud in there."

"And how loud is it going to be?" Naomi asked.

"I can't really discribe how loud it is, you'll just have to find out for yourself."

After much waiting, the doors were finally opened and everyone was allowed in. Although there was a large crowd, we still managed to get the best seats on the top row.

"Wow!" exclaimed Naomi, "you weren't kidding when you said this thing was big."

"Yeah I know," I said with a grin, "I used to hear that alot when I told people about this place."

It took properly another five to ten minutes or so, but finally everyone was in the theatre. The lights went out and a loud booming voice could heard, "Welcome...to the Ontario Science Centre's Omnimax theatre..."

"Is it too loud for you Kaede?" I whispered.

"Maybe just a little," she answered, "but I think I'll be okay, I'll let you know if it gets too loud for me."

"Okay then," I nodded.

The booming voice then spoke of the speakers behind the big dome screen and even showed where they were, some were very close to where we were sitting.

"Imagine hearing a jet on the Airport Runway," the voice continued, "or the calm of the summer's night..." this was followed by the sounds one could hear on a beautiful night, "or the roar of a Space Shuttle!" A woofer could be seen as we heard the roar of a Space Shuttle's engine in action. Finally after the sound stopped, the voice concluded by saying, "Now sit back and enjoy your Omnimax experience."

Before our movie began, there were a few trailers showing the other movies that were playing in the theatre, then the movie began.

It was quite an educational movie as there were people explaining how the roller coasters first got started, then explained about how they maintained them and of course, which was Naomi's favourite part, there were the rides on the roller coasters.

"Wicked cool," Naomi said happily.

Some moments though were a little too scary for Kaede, (mostly the loops and the rides that were spun upside down), so she closed her eyes and held onto my left hand.

I gently rubbed her hand with my thumb and when she opened her eyes, I showed her a smile, "do you want to leave right now Kaede?"

"No I'm okay, I just had to close my eyes for a minute."

"Okay then, just checking," I whispered and continued to rub a small portion of skin on Kaede's hand.

We stayed in that theatre until the movie was done and another voice was heard over the speakers, "We hope you have your Ontario Science Centre's Omnimax experience. Please be sure to visit our gift shop and we hope you enjoy the rest of your visit here to the Ontario Science Centre."

Afterwords, we got some pizza to eat (just for the record, you can't take food and drinks into the theatre), then after we done, we headed out back to the truck and went back to the hotel.

"Did you enjoy visiting the Ontario Science Centre Naomi?" Kaede asked.

"Yeah, it was amazing," she then looked over to me, "thank you for taking us there Big Bro."

"It was my pleasure Little Sis and I'm glad you had a good time."

On the way back, we got stuck in another traffic jam, but this time the traffic wasn't moving a bit. We checked the radio station to see what was going on, "A tractor trailer has tipped over on it's side blocking traffic for miles," said the announcer on the radio, "so we suggest you avoid that road if you can, but if you are stuck on that street, you might want to get comfortable, the clean up might take a while."

"Well I guess we got no choice," I sighed as I turned off the engine, "we're going to be here for a while, we might as well get comfortable."

During that time, Kaede rested her head on my shoulder and took another little nap and she wasn't alone, Naomi took a nap in the back seat as well while I listened to the music on the radio. It took about an hour and a half to move the tipped over Tractor Trailer and it's contents, but finally we were able to continue on our way.

By the time we had gotten back to the hotel, the sun was already going down for the day.

"You guys must've had a good time at the Science Centre if you're just coming in now," said a voice in the lobby. We looked and saw that the voice belonged to Asa, who was with Rin.

"Actually we were held up by a traffic jam, but we'll tell you about it later. We would like to hear about your day, right Kaede?"

"Right Matthew," she nodded, "did you enjoy your visit to the Royal Ontario Museum."

"We sure did," Asa answered, "Rin and I had a wonderful time looking at the exhibits and learning about their history too. Although Rin got a little scared by one of the animatronic dinosaurs," and as she was saying this, she slapped Rin so hard that he fell out of his seat and onto the floor, "isn't that right Rin?"

"I wasn't the only one," he said, "I remember hearing you scream when you heard the dinosaur roar."

"He just took me by surprise that's all, I wasn't scared."

"Right," he said, rolling his eyes. He didn't sound like he believed Asa. Kaede, Naomi and I chuckled quietly, then we sat down in the other seats and talked with Asa and Rin about our day out at the Ontario Science Centre.


	23. Birthday Surprise

And now for the moment we've all been waiting for, the birthday episode of 'Our Kinda Trip' and this one is for Kaede and her 20th birthday. This idea I've been waiting to write up for two whole years since I first came up with this idea and you'll soon see why. Note too that this chapter was recently inspired by my day out with two of my buddies in Downtown Toronto and also, this chapter often goes into third person narration from time to time. Now before we begin, as per usual, I'd like to say that the rating is PG with no swearing included and in case any of you Kaede fans are wondering, Kaede's official birthday is November 10th.

_**Our Kinda Trip**_

_**Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

_**Episode 23: Birthday Surprise**_

Later that evening, as Kaede was getting herself ready to go to bed, I snuck out of the room for a moment to speak with our sisters and some of our friends, "how come you wanted to meet us out here Big Bro?" Naomi asked.

"Well I don't want Kaede to overhear what I've got to say?"

"Are you cheating on her with another girl?"

I shot her an angry stare, "of course not, don't you ever think I would ever do something like that. I've always been devoted to Kaede and that's never going to change."

"Geez just relax will you? I was just joking around."

"Does this little meeting have anything to do with what's coming up tomorrow?" Daisy asked in the hopes of changing the topic of discussion.

"Yes this meeting does have alot to do with what's coming up tomorrow," I answered, "tomorrow is going to be a special day for Kaede, mostly because it's going to be her 20th birthday."

"Her 20th birthday huh? Well then, it's _definetly_ going to be a special day for her," smiled Asa.

"And I plan to make it even more special," I said, "I got some surprises for her, but it'll take about half of the day tomorrow just to get everything ready and this is where you guys can come in. I want you all to keep Kaede away from the room and the hotel until around six P.M. We should hopefully have everything all set up for her by then."

"And who's this 'we' you're talking about?" Naomi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That would be myself and Daisy," Primula answered, "we're going to be helping Matthew out tomorrow."

"You can count on us Matthew," said Emily, "we'll do our best to give her a good day out and keep her away until you're ready."

"Thanks," I smiled.

With all that said, we returned back to our rooms. I came in at just the right time cause that's when Kaede came out of the washroom wearing her pajamas. We climbed into bed, said our good nights and went off to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up bright and early, even before Kaede could wake up. I turned on the television to see if that snowstorm we heard about was coming anytime soon and while I waited for the weather report to come on, I thought over everything that I planned out for Kaede's birthday surprise today, "she's going to love it, I just know it," I thought to myself.

Finally the weather reports came up, which was actually around the same time that Kaede was waking up. She let out a big yawn, then opened her sleepy blue eyes and looked up at me, "Good morning Matthew."

"Good morning Kaede."

"How long have you been up?"

"Only a few minutes," I answered.

_"That snowstorm we've been warning you about is just a day away, so make sure you have plenty of supplies, cause this one is going to be a firece one."_

"So, what do you want to do today Matthew?" Kaede asked after we got the report.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm going to be busy throughout most of the day."

"What? How come?"

"Well it seems that late last night, I got a phone call from an old friend who needs help in setting everything up for a surprise, so I might be busy all day."

"Oh," Kaede looked a little disappointed.

"But I'll be free by tonight so we can do whatever you want."

"Alright," Kaede sighed unhappily.

She got up, picked out the clothes she was going to wear today, then she went to the washroom to get washed up. Just as she went in and closed the door behind her, I heard a knock at the door.

"Can you get that Matthew?" Kaede called.

"Sure Kaede!" I called back. I had a strong feeling I knew who was at the door. I got up from the bed and went to answer the door, sure enough on the other side of the door were Asa and Rin, along with Ryan and Emily.

"Morning Matthew, hope we're not waking you up bud," said Ryan.

"Nah you're not, Kaede and I were already up," I said, "but seriously, how did you know Kaede and I were awake at this time?"

"You can thank Asa for that," said Rin, "she's been getting a little too excited about hanging out with the birthday girl today."

"I wasn't the only one who was excited about that," Asa said in protest, then she asked, "speaking of the birthday girl, where is she?"

"She's getting ready to go out today," and I told them of what I had told Kaede earlier, "truth be told, I wasn't really lying to her, I just didn't say who that person was."

"Well it's okay to say something that's not true if you're trying to hide a surprise," said Emily, "but it's not okay to lie any other times."

"Did you get that Rin?" Asa asked in a cheeky way. Rin didn't answer, he just muttered something quietly under his breath.

After five to seven minutes of waiting, Kaede came out of the washroom. She was wearing a light blue shirt and had a normal blue skirt on with white socks on her feet (I've never seen her wear those before, which made me wonder of where she got them).

"Oh hello everyone," Kaede said in surprise.

"Good morning Kaede," Emily said cheerfully, "we were just talking with Matthew about our day out on the city, we're going to take advantage of this beautiful weather before the big snowstorm arrives."

"Would you like to join us Kaede? We're just going to the downtown area," said Ryan. (Notice how he said her name properly).

Kaede thought about it, then she answered Ryan's question, "sure, I'll join you," she answered.

"Great," smiled Asa, "grab your purse and let's go."

Kaede grabbed her purse and before she could even say 'See You later' to me, Asa grabbed her right hand and pulled her right out of the room.

"Asa, slow down!" Kaede cried, "I'm going to lose my balance if we keep running like this!"

"Oh sorry Kaede," Asa apologized, "I'm just excited about today."

They did slow down as they continued to follow Rin, Ryan and Emily out of the hotel and down the street to the nearest Toronto Transit Control Subway station

"Alright so here's our plan for today," Ryan said after they got into the station, "we'll take the subway down to the Eaton Centre and from there, we'll walk for a bit until we get to Spadina Ave. I'm sure we'll find some interesting stores that you guys might like."

But Ryan had not told them of how much walking they were going have to do. After reaching the Eaton Centre and leaving it, they walked on for quite a distance. Along the way, they passed by City Hall and the CP24 News building.

"What the heck?" gasped Asa, "there's a car sticking out of the building."

And indeed there was, there was a van sticking out the side of the building, making it look like it was crashing threw on that one side of the building, "well that's something you don't see everyday."

Even Rin had to agree with Asa.

"You alright back there Kaede?" Emily called back to the orange haired girl, "you've been awfully quiet since we got off the subway!"

"Yeah I'm alright, I'm just looking around."

"Okay, just checking!"

At last, they reached the crossroads leading to Spadina Avenue, they turned to their right and continued on. There were plenty of shops along that road on both sides and with the TTC streetcar running in the middle of the road.

"Hmm," Ryan said out loud.

"What's up Ryan?" Emily asked.

"I'm just looking up at the sky, those clouds look dark to me. I think we might be getting that snowstorm sooner than expected..." he turned back to Rin, Asa and Kaede, "do you guys have hats, gloves and scraves with you?"

"I do," Kaede answered.

"Uh, not me," Rin answered.

"Neither do I," said Asa.

"Well in that case, we better stop in a clothes store and get those things for you," said Ryan, "the last thing we need is for you guys to catch colds while we're out and about."

And the moment they saw a clothing store, they went inside.

Back at the hotel, Primula and Daisy were helping to set everything up. Daisy worked on making a big birthday cake for Kaede while Primula helped me put up the banners and streamers, "there's still so much we have to do before Kaede comes back," I said, "good thing she's out with Ryan and the others, this will give us plenty of time to finish what we need to do."

"Like wrapping up our presents," said Daisy.

"Yep," I nodded, "speaking of which, what did you get her?"

"I got her a very beautiful dress from when we were in New Liskeard and it's in blue as well. What about you Rimu? What did you get her?"

"I got her some homemade jewelry that I saw on a stall back in the realm of the gods," she answered.

"Oh Kaede will definetly like those gifts, she loves blue things and she also likes homemade jewelry."

"And what about you Matt? What did you get her?"

"Or made for her," said Primula, remembering that the year before I had written up a special story for Kaede.

"Well I made her something very special," I said, "with a little help from her father and some of her friends too."

"What is it?" I whispered it first to Primula and then to Daisy. I didn't want anyone else hearing it cause there are certain few people (mostly Naomi), who have a tendacy to blurt out everything when they're not suppose to.

"Wow, Kaede's going to love that one for sure, but where did you get the idea for it?"

"I'll tell you later, right now we got to get back to work."

"I don't think we're going to need to hurry," said Primula, "just look outside."

Both Daisy and I looked outside and saw the dark clouds in the sky and small flakes of snow coming down, "looks like that snowstorm's coming in sooner than we expected," said Daisy, "I sure hope those guys brought their winter gear with them."

"I know Kaede did," I said, "she's always prepared no matter where she goes."

Kaede was indeed prepared, she had a small hat and a pair of gloves in her purse and as luck would have it, she was wearing a pair of boots instead of shoes. Both Rin and Asa had originally been wearing jackets and shoes, but after they had gone into the clothing store, they were also wearing hats, scraves and gloves.

It wasn't snowing when they went into the store, but by the time they had bought everything they needed, snow was coming down in small flakes.

"So much for perfect weather," grumbled Asa.

"Ah well, a little snow isn't going to ruin our day," smiled Emily, "now, let's get going again."

And that's what they did, they continued walking along Spadina Avenue until they finally stopped outside of a shop called 'Anime Xtreme Incorporated', "after hearing you guys say that you were interested in Animes and manga books, we decided to show you this store. It's got alot in there and maybe you'll find some things you're looking for."

"Oh, Matthew would've loved to see this store," groaned Kaede quietly to herself.

They walked down a stairwell and into the store. Behind the counter were shelves of DVDs, then from one row to another, each set of shelves had mangas sitting on them, more than they had ever seen before. There were also clothes with anime character's pictures and logos on them, then there were shelves with figurines and finally there were shelves at the far end of the store full of posters.

The five of them spent at least fifteen minutes looking around the store and each one found something they were looking for. Rin had gotten a figurine of an anime character from a show he used to watch, Asa got a poster and Kaede bought two manga books from the series 'Cactus's Secret'.

"The story of a girl falling in love with a dim-witted boy'," said Asa as she took a look at what Kaede chose, "you better keep this away from Naomi, cause you know what she's going to say when she sees them 'that's the story of your life'."

"Yeah she probably would say that."

After one more look around the store, the gang payed for what they wanted to get, then they headed out of the store. The snow was now starting to come down in bigger flakes and everything around them was covered in small piles of snow, which were building up fast. They hadn't gone far before they heard light grumbling sounds coming from Kaede's stomach.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"Don't apologize Kaede," said Ryan, "we should be saying sorry, we left the hotel without eating. You guys must be straving right now."

"Well now that you mention it, I am feeling a little hungry," said Rin and so did Asa.

"Lucky for you, we know of a good resturant that's close by, just follow us," and that's what they did, they followed Ryan and Emily down the street (for a short distance) until they finally reached a resturant...which was full of people.

"Maybe we should get take out," said Emily, who was amazed by the large amount of people in that resturant.

"Yeah I think that would be a good idea," agreed Ryan.

And since no one wanted to stand outside during that big snowstorm, they _all _went inside to get some take out.

Back in the room, the decorations were finally up on the walls and so was a banner with the words 'Happy Birthday Kaede' in both English and Japanese. The cake was now baking in the oven (for the record, we brought along a portable stove just in case some rooms didn't have a kitchen) and Daisy was making the icing for the cake.

"I'm going to write Happy Birthday Kaede on the cake and maybe put it in a heart," she said.

"Oh Kaede would love that for sure," I smiled. At that moment, we heard some loud ringing, which made me jump in surprise, "gosh darn it!"

"It's just your cellphone Matthew," said Primula.

"Oh," I said meekily. I pulled it out of it's holder and checked to see who it was, "it's Kaede, please be quiet for a moment." Daisy and Primula went silent at once and I answered the phone, "hey Kaede, are you enjoying your little day out on the city?"

"It's alright, apart from the heavy snowfalls."

"Yeah I noticed that earlier, I hope you're staying warm."

"We are, we're actually inside an all you can eat Chinese resturant, but it's kind of full right now, just listen..." the next thing I heard was the sound of people chattering away and eating food, "just about every table in here is taken, so we're getting some take out and then we're going to go visit one of Emily's friends for a bit."

"Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"What about you Matthew? Can you come meet up with us?"

"Sorry Kaede, but I'm still tied up at the moment, there's alot that needs to be done, but I'll make it up to you tonight okay?"

"Okay," she sighed unhappily, "well I'll see you later."

"Yeah, I'll see you later...I love you."

"And I love you too."

After hanging up, I placed the cellphone back in it's holder and the three of us went back to work, "you'll definetly be making it up to Kaede tonight when she comes back to a party," smiled Daisy.

"Yeah that's true," I smiled.

"Matthew, can you give me a hand with the streamers here?" Primula asked.

"Sure Primula, I'm coming," and with that, I went over to help Primula put up the streamers above the doorway.

After getting their orders, Rin, Ryan and the three girls went over to Emily's friend's place to eat the food they got and to talk with Emily's friends till around four thirty in the afternoon.

"You having a good time so far Kaede?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Are you sure? Cause you haven't said much since we got here."

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm just thinking about Matthew, he's missing on so much today because he has to help a friend."

"Well look on the bright side Kaede," said Rin, "when you two go out again, probably a day after this snowstorm passes, you can actually show Matthew all those places he's never seen before."

"Yeah that's true, you're right Rin," she said with a smile on her face.

"Or the place we're going to be going to next," said Ryan, which got everyone's attention right away. "Well I remember you guys saying that you were interested into certain card games and I do know of a store that sells alot of cards from many different games. It's a bit of a distance away, but it's well worth the walk."

"And you guys might be in luck," said one of Emily's friends, "the snow's not coming down as hard as before, so it should be easier to get there without snow blowing in your faces."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" said Asa, "let's get going."

"I'll phone Patrick on the way and see if he can meet up with us there," said Ryan.

"Okay, but before we leave, can I at least phone Matthew and see if he'll join us?" Kaede asked. Ryan and Emily nodded and so, Kaede pulled out her cellphone and dailed the number.

The work in getting the birthday party ready was nearly complete, all the banners and streamers were finally up, the cake had been decorated and now we were mixing up the last bit of food for the party.

"Nearly done Matt," said Daisy.

"Good," I smiled. Then we heard my cellphone again, but this time I didn't jump in fright. I pulled it out of it's holder and answered it, "hello?"

"Hi Matthew, it's me Kaede. We're going over to another store that sells cards and I was wondering if you would like to join us at the store."

"Oh I would love to Kaede, but there's still just a little more work that needs to be done, so I can't join you just yet. I'm sorry."

"Oh that's okay, I guess we can spend some time together afterwords."

"Yeah we can do that," I said kindly. "Anyways you have a good time and I'll see you in a bit."

"Okay, bye," and she hung up.

"Hmm, she doesn't sound too happy," I said after putting my cellphone back in it's holder.

"She probably thinks you've forgotten about her birthday or maybe you'll avoiding her for some reason."

"Well she'll be thinking differently when she comes in later tonight for her own party," I said, "speaking of which, let's finish up and get ourselves ready."

"Right," said the two girls and that's just what we did.

Kaede and the rest of the gang walked along for a bit until they finally reached the card shop where they met up with Patrick. They all looked at the different variety of card packs and cards in the display cases in the counters, then afterwords they played different card games until around five thirty.

"Well thank you so much for showing us those stores," Asa said to Ryan and Emily afterwords, "it's interesting to know there are stores like those ones right here in Toronto. We're sure to visit them again before we leave."

"Well it's enterily up to you guys," said Ryan, "and you're welcome by the way."

Kaede also thanked Ryan and Emily, but she still felt a little sad, "what's the matter Kaede?" Emily asked kindly, "why do you look so sad? Didn't you have a good time?"

"Yeah I had a good time, I just keep thinking if Matthew and everyone I know has forgotten that today is my birthday."

"Is today your birthday?" Emily asked (although she already knew the answer). Kaede nodded unhappily, "well I'm sure Matthew hasn't forgotten. Why don't we ask him that when we get back to the hotel?"

"Sure," Kaede nodded.

And so, they began their long walk back to the hotel.

When they arrived, Kaede used her key card to get in and pushed the door open, but the entire room was completely dark. It was like no one was in there, "he's still out working," she sighed quietly.

She was going to be proven wrong. The lights came on and everyone in the room shouted "Surprise!"

Kaede gasped, "What is all this?" she asked.

"This is a birthday party for a girl who's just turned twenty years old today," smiled Sia.

"_This_ is the main reason why I couldn't go out with you today," I said as I came out of my hiding spot. "I was telling you the truth, I just wasn't telling you of who's party was setting up for. Happy Birthday Kaede."

Her angel like smile returned to her face, then she walked up towards me and gave me a big hug, "so you didn't forget."

"No of course not, I would never forget a day like this, we all just wanted to surprise you. That's why I asked Ryan, Emily, Rin and Asa to keep you away from the hotel as much as possible until we were ready."

"Well you definetly surprised me, thank you so much."

"You're very welcome Kaede."

After she had put on a birthday hat, Kaede opened up all the birthday gifts that were sitting on the table. She loved every single one of them, especially the home-made jewelry and the clothes Daisy and Primula picked out.

"Thank you, both of you," Kaede smiled, but then she noticed, "where's your gift Matthew?"

"I'll show you," I answered and walked over towards the television. I pulled back a clothe, revealing a DVD player. I turned on the television, pushed the play button on the DVD player and showed off the birthday surprise, which was a music video just for Kaede.

It started with the song 'You'll Be In My Heart' by 'Phil Collins' in the first section called 'Kaede - The Early Years', then it switched over to 'Kaede - The Teenage Years' and the song that played was 'Yours to Hold' by 'Skillet' and for the last bit of the video, the song was 'Awake in a Dream' by 'Kalan Porter' and most of those photos showed Kaede with her friends and yours truely of course.

When the video had finished, Kaede was in tears.

"What's the matter Kaede?" Nerine asked curiously, "didn't you like the video?"

"Yes, I loved it," she answered happily, "these are just my happy tears. Thank you so much Matthew."

"It was my pleasure Kaede."

"But where did you get all those pictures you showed in the Early Years and Teenage years?"

"You can thank Rin and Asa for suppling the photos for the teenage years and you can also thank your dad for the rest of the photos. When I told I was going to make this video for your birthday, he gave me all the photos I needed to make it all possible."

"Well I'll be sure to thank him too next time I see him."

"Actually, you can tell him that right now..." I pulled out my cellphone and dailed another number. Moments later, I got an answer on the other end, "hi Mr. Fuyou, it's me."

"Oh hi Matthew, did my daughter like the video?"

"Why don't you ask her that yourself?"

I then handed the phone over to Kaede, "hello my little baby girl, Happy Birthday."

"Oh thank you daddy."

"Did you enjoy the video?"

"Yes I did," she nodded.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said, "now tell me, are you having a good day today."

"Yes I am, especially since I'm with all my friends and family...and my wonderful husband," when Kaede said that, I blushed into a deep shade of red.

"Well I'm glad to hear that," said Mr. Fuyou, "I'm sorry I can't join you right now, but I've got an important meeting to go to in the next few minutes. So I guess I'll see you when you get home."

"Okay daddy," she smiled, "have a safe trip and...I love you."

"I love you too sweetie, talk to you later."

Kaede hung up the phone and gave it back to me. Then she got up and gave me another hug, "you always give me the best surprises Matthew."

"Well I do the best I can Kaede," I smiled. She then got up on her toes and we kissed on the lips for two and a half minutes, "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you."

Following the kiss, the birthday cake was brought out with at least twenty candles on top of it, "make a wish Kaede," said Naomi cheerfully.

Kaede thought about it for a moment, then she blew out the candles and on that note, the party offically began. Kaede didn't tell anyone of what she wished for, despite some asking of what her wish was. She didn't need to tell, I knew excatly what her wish was and that was to be with the people she loves and that wish has and always will come true.


End file.
